What Caused the Bright Flash on the Moon on March 17, 2013?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the bright flash observed on the Moon on March 17, 2013, attributed to a meteorite impact. Participants explore the implications of this event, the frequency of lunar impacts, and the distribution of craters on the Moon's surface.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • A meteorite impacted the Moon at an estimated speed of 56,000 mph, creating a crater 65 feet wide and producing a flash visible to the naked eye, according to NASA scientists.
  • Some participants express surprise at the number of recorded lunar impacts, referencing a historical impact map from 2005 to 2008.
  • Questions arise regarding the apparent higher density of craters at the lunar poles, with suggestions that this may be due to better shadows or the geological history of the Moon's surface.
  • It is noted that the lunar highlands are older than the maria, which may account for the difference in crater density, as the maria formed later and erased some evidence of earlier impacts.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express curiosity about the impact event and the distribution of craters, but there is no consensus on the reasons for the apparent differences in crater density at the poles versus the maria.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on geological definitions and assumptions about the Moon's history, which remain unresolved in the discussion.

Astronuc
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A meteorite crashed into the moon on March 17,
slamming into the lunar surface at [an estimated] 56,000 mph (90,000 kph) and creating a new crater 65 feet wide (20 meters). The crash sparked a bright flash of light that would have been visible to anyone looking at the moon at the time with the naked eye, NASA scientists say.

". . . , an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium," Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office said in a statement. "It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we've ever seen before."
http://news.yahoo.com/huge-rock-crashes-moon-sparks-giant-explosion-152049489.html

Apparently, NASA astronomers have been monitoring the moon for lunar meteor impacts for the past eight years.
 
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What is mind boggling are how many impacts they've recorded, (pic below is 2005 - 2008 only)between perseides and all of the other junk out there:

http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2008/09/02/02sep_lunarperseids_resources/impactmap_big.jpg
I still have to dissappoint the Mayan calendar doomsday folks though by telling them as far as the view from Earth is concerned, it's business as usual. We've been hanging out in the denser part of the spiral arm for millions of years. :biggrin:
 
Why does it look like there are more craters at the poles? Or is it just because of better shadows from the grazing sunlight?
 
berkeman said:
Why does it look like there are more craters at the poles? Or is it just because of better shadows from the grazing sunlight?
It's partly because of better shadows, but also partly because there are fewer craters in the lunar maria. The lunar highlands are about the same age as the Moon itself. The lunar maria are a billion or so years younger. There were far more meteor collisions during the Moon's first billion years compared to the 3.5 billion years that followed. Whatever caused the maria to form erased the evidence of that first billion years of continued bombardment.
 
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Very interesting. Thanks DH!