Uh-Oh! The Moon Just Added Another Large Crater To Its Pockmarked Surface

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Given that the moon already has a pockmarked surface, one would think that an additional crater would not really be cause for much excitement - But as it turns out, this latest one is, because according to scientists it is the biggest explosion observed on the lunar surface since 2005 - One so large, that the bright flash of light that resulted from the impact, could have been observed from earth without a telescope, had a stargazer been looking up at that precise moment.

Though the crash occurred on March 17th, it was announced by NASA a week ago on May 17th, most likely because the scientists were trying to investigate the cause of this unprecedented explosion. After a couple of months of observation, the experts believe that the bright flash occurred when a foot-wide, 80lbs meteor came hurtling down and crashed onto the surface of the moon at 56,000 mph (90,000 k/h), creating another 65-foot hole in its already heavily cratered surface.

They also revealed that while this was the only space rock that hit the lunar surface, there were a large number of meteors that zipped through earth's orbit that fateful night. Fortunately, our planet rarely gets hit thanks to the fact that the space rocks disintegrate as they come in contact with the atmosphere.

On May 22nd, the privately funded Slooh Space Camera, whose mission is to promote scientific enlightenment, even zoomed in and broadcast live, the exact spot so that space buffs could see for themselves what the new crater looked like. NASA scientists also expect to zoom in their Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to take some close-up pictures, so stay tuned!

Resources: space.com,slooh,com,news.yahoo.com

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151 Comments
  • ccooper001
    ccooper001over 10 years
    minecraft!!
    • The manover 10 years
      Good thing we have advanced technology.
      • 2022rm
        2022rmover 10 years
        This is amazing and that expolgan shure was big.
        • 2022mr
          2022mrover 10 years
          I wish i knew this earier i would want to see this in action
          • 2022ab
            2022abover 10 years
            It is amazing how big that explosion!
            • 2022ab
              2022abover 10 years
              The moon surely recked up!
              • 2022ts
                2022tsover 10 years
                I loved how it looked like a sparkle when it hit, and its size must of been huge. If i could see it I would be blown away.
                • 2022jc
                  2022jcover 10 years
                  I would be blown away to the size of the hole was 65- foot hole in the moon. do you think that there mite be the hole there today?
                • 2022gn
                  2022gnover 10 years
                  That's really neat. I wonder where meteors come from. What do you say about it?
                  • 2022ef
                    2022efover 10 years
                    I liked when it was really small explosion.I wonder how big is the crater.How blinding was the light of the explosion.
                    • 2022bh
                      2022bhover 10 years
                      i know right and it was over 5 metric tons of tnt
                    • 2022cb
                      2022cbover 10 years
                      That's really bad