- A Japanese astronomer filmed a meteorite falling on the Moon
- This phenomenon is very difficult to follow on video because very short
- In one year nearly 200 meteorites fall on the Moon
The Moon is one of the first observation targets for amateur astronomers. Daichi Fuji had precisely turned its devices towards our natural satellite during the month of February. It was then that luck smiled on him. During a night of observation, he saw a bright flash on the surface of the Moon.
A meteorite had just hit the ground of our neighbour. The collision was filmed by Fuji who posted the video a few days ago on his Twitter account. In his message he explains that the meteor struck northwest of the Pitiscus crater. We have known for centuries that the Moon is hit by meteorites.
A common phenomenon, difficult to observe
The presence of this natural satellite in our vicinity would also allow the Earth to miss several collisions every year. Despite our good knowledge of these phenomena, it is quite rare to have images of contact between a meteorite and the Moon. These phenomena, very short and unpredictable, are difficult to follow on video, and completely impossible to spot with the naked eye.
I was able to catch the biggest lunar impact flash in my observation history! This is a picture of the lunar impact flash that appeared at 20:14:30.8 on February 23, 2023, taken from my home in Hiratsuka (replayed at actual speed). It was a huge flash that continued to shine for more than 1 second. Since the moon has no atmosphere, meteors and fireballs cannot be seen, and the moment a crater is formed, it glows. pic.twitter.com/Bi2JhQa9Q0
— Daichi Fujii (@dfuji1) February 24, 2023
In the video above, the impact zone to watch is in the lower third on the right. The flash is only visible for a second and may be difficult to detect on first viewing. According to the first calculations of the scientists, this collision would have created a new crater 12 meters wide.
NASA hopes to be able to orbit its observation rover over this area of the Moon in the coming months in order to have an accurate image of the crater just weeks after impact. During its history, the Moon has been hit hundreds of thousands of times by meteorites.
The Moon: a vacuum cleaner for meteorites?
The dark spots, visible to the naked eye, on the surface of the latter, are proof that meteorites were legion on the lunar soil. If scientists assure that the most turbulent period in the history of the Moon is now behind it, they estimate at the same time that nearly 180 meteorites still fall on the lunar soil every year.
If this figure is quite impressive, nearly half of the impacts are invisible from the Earth, those which take place on the “hidden face” of our satellite. The few hundred visible impacts are so fleeting that they often go unnoticed. The collection of these images by astronomer Daichi Fuji is therefore a real gift from heaven.
