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DEEP IMPACT! Scientist captures 'biggest lunar impact flash' as meteorite crashes into moon

As the telephoto camera was bright, Daichi Fuji claimed that its 'generated crater is large' and the 'striations are clearly visible'

TOKYO, JAPAN: An astronomer from Japan has claimed that he has captured a likely lunar impact flash in a telephoto shot. The shot was captured on February 23, 2023, by Daichi Fuji, the head of astronomy at the Hiratsuka City Museum, just after 8.15 pm (11.15 GMT) from his home in Hiratsuka, Japan.

Meanwhile, Fuji claimed that the object seemed to have fallen near the Ideler L crater, slightly northwest of the Pitiscus crater on the moon. He tweeted on his handle, "I was able to catch the biggest lunar impact flash in my observation history!"

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'I was able to hold on until the last minute'

Fuji tweeted, "At the time of observation, there was no artificial satellite passing over the lunar surface and from the way it shines, it is highly likely that it is a lunar impact flash." As the telephoto camera was bright, he claimed that its "generated crater is large" and the "striations are clearly visible."  He further added, "At that time, the altitude of the moon was only seven degrees, and I was glad that I was able to hold on until the last minute." 

What is a lunar impact flash?

A lunar impact flash can be defined as, "fragments from comets and asteroids.  Unlike the Earth, which has an atmosphere that breaks up most meteoroids before they reach the ground, the Moon has little-to-no atmosphere. So there is nothing to prevent meteoroids from impacting the lunar surface.  Upon impact, meteoroids striking the Moon create an impact flash observable by telescopes on Earth," as per NASA. 

What are the opinions of experts?

Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, opines that 100 ping-pong-ball-sized meteoroids hit the moon every day. He claimed, "It adds up to roughly 33,000 meteoroids per year. Despite their small size, each of these ping pong-ball-size rocks impacts the surface with the force of 7 pounds (3.2 kilograms) of dynamite," as per Daily Mail. 

A similar incident had also taken place recently when a meteoroid created a shooting star across southern England and Wales and in parts of France. Meanwhile, the largest lunar impact is understood to have occurred around 4.3 billion years ago near its south pole.

'Thanks moon for taking the impact on behalf of earth'

The Internet quickly reacted to the claim of the astronomer. A user said, "They say it's a meteor but it looks like an explosion from on the moon. Also, what' s that light at the bottom left?" "Thanks moon for taking the impact on behalf of earth," claimed another.

"Wow that's impressive. Amazing work!" commented another. "@dfuji1 what a wonderful and unique capture. congratulations. Thank you for your meticlulous and dedicated work," added a user.

"Wow: This is really a one second fame! The newly created crater could be around a dozen meters (39 feet) in diameter and may eventually be imaged by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or India's Chandrayaan 2 lunar probe, Fujii said," read one tweet. 

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