Waspie_Dwarf Posted February 24, 2014 #1 Share Posted February 24, 2014 'Biggest observed meteorite impact' hits Moon Scientists say they have observed a record-breaking impact on the Moon.Spanish astronomers spotted a meteorite with a mass of about half a tonne crashing into the lunar surface last September. They say the collision would have generated a flash of light so bright that it would have been visible from Earth. Read more... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewinn Posted February 24, 2014 #2 Share Posted February 24, 2014 i'd love to witness something like this. or maybe Betelgeuse going supernova. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sakari Posted February 24, 2014 #3 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Earths shield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted February 24, 2014 Author #4 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Earths shield When it comes to protection from impacts I'd lose the Moon and keep the atmosphere any day. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted February 25, 2014 #5 Share Posted February 25, 2014 The new in the U.S. said it was an asteroid. Remember when we had real reporters who enquired of sources? Sigh....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashyne Posted February 25, 2014 #6 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Why did it take 5 months to report this incident? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted February 25, 2014 Author #7 Share Posted February 25, 2014 The new in the U.S. said it was an asteroid. Remember when we had real reporters who enquired of sources? Sigh....... I'm not sure what your point is here. An asteroid is a small irregular object orbiting the Sun. A Meteorite is a body (of cometary or asteroid origin) which impacts another body. This WAS an asteroid right up until the moment it hit the Moon. I'm no fan of reporters but in this case it is you that didn't check your facts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted February 25, 2014 Author #8 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Why did it take 5 months to report this incident? Firstly many astronomical observatories are automated now. These telescopes were specifically set up to search for such impacts and so it is highly likely that they are automated. Watching the Moon from the time it rises until the time it sets will produce hours of information EACH night and EVERY night that the Moon is visible. Searching for a tiny flash of light that lasts a few seconds on an object as large as the moon is going to be a time consuming affair. Then once they had found the impact they needed to do all the calculations. Measure the brightness, calculate the energy released in the impact, use the energy released to calculate the size and velocity of the impactor. Once all this was done, this being a scientific paper, it then needed to be peer reviewed. Then and only then were the team that made the discovery read and able to release their findings. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc14 Posted February 26, 2014 #9 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Somebody out there with a telescope in the backyard is now rapidly scanning there observations from 9/11/13. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjonalien Posted February 26, 2014 #10 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Where is the visual universetoday has it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted February 26, 2014 #11 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Wow. That must have been a sight to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirithorseroad Posted February 27, 2014 #12 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I want to see the crater plus if there is any way perhaps some science of exactly what it was that landed there seems incredible perhaps there is something to be learned possibly unexpected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter B Posted February 28, 2014 #13 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I want to see the crater plus if there is any way perhaps some science of exactly what it was that landed there seems incredible perhaps there is something to be learned possibly unexpected It wouldn't surprise me if right now people are going through images from the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter to find the impact site. That will show them where it is, and then they can go back to look at earlier images of the site. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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