Twp asteroids hit Moon, sending bright flash visible from Earth
What's the story
In a notable astronomical event, two asteroids collided with the Moon last week. The first impact occurred on October 30, followed by a second one on November 1. The collisions were captured by Japanese astronomer Daichi Fujii, who works as the curator at the Hiratsuka City Museum. He shared footage of the event and explained its origins and visibility.
Astronomical explanation
Fujii explained the phenomenon on X
Fujii clarified on X that the light burst was probably from either the Southern Taurid Meteor Shower or the Northern Meteor Shower. He explained that since the Moon has no atmosphere, meteors can't be seen and it lights up when a crater is formed. This phenomenon was observed in both cases of asteroid impacts, which were likely to have created craters several feet wide on the lunar surface.
Asteroid impact
First meteoroid likely created a 10-foot-wide crater
The first meteoroid likely created a 10-foot-wide crater on impact. Fujii told Space.com that the actual impact might have been bigger than what was observed through the telescope due to pixel saturation. The second asteroid, which struck on November 1, also likely came from the same meteor shower. Notably, scientists are keeping an eye on asteroid 2024 YR4 as it could hit the Moon in 2032 with a probability of 3.8% to 4.3%.