Unidentified Object Strikes Moon's Surface
Unidentified Object Strikes Moon's Surface
Daichi Fujii can't seem to get enough of the dazzling skies. The astronomy buff and head of the Hiratsuka City Museum recently recorded glimpses of brilliant flashes on the Moon, fitting in with the Geminid meteor showers. So, it's plausible that a few of these fireballs could be striking our lunar neighbor.
The Moon's weathered surface isn't a stranger to collisions with rocky debris in our universe. In fact, it's received hits from Geminids before—as stated in a 2015 NASA report, the Moon was clobbered by 19 Geminids in 2006 and 21 in 2010. However, the recent recordings could possibly showcase such impacts as they unfolded.
Fujii captured these recordings at 7:41 p.m. and 10:34 p.m. local time on December 8, as mentioned in translated posts on X, earlier known as Twitter. Fujii confirmed the occurrence of these lunar impact flashes using multiple telescopes, according to the post. "Bright meteors and fireballs have been popping up daily, but lunar impact flashes have also been caught one after another."
The Geminids are an annual meteor shower celebrated during mid-December. Under clear skies, these meteors can appear like splendid cosmic pyrotechnics. As per NASA, the occasion is "one of the best chances for young sky-gazers, as it begins around 9 or 10 p.m.," and is most easily observed after allowing your eyes to adjust to the darkness for about 30 minutes.
The Geminids stem from an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite in October 1983. Last year, a collaborative NASA-ESA mission conducted fresh observations of Phaethon and established that the comet-like asteroid's tail is composed of sodium, rather than dust, potentially reshaping the origin story of the Geminids.
Last year, Fujii recorded NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite 2, or ICESat-2, firing lasers into the night sky as it cruised overhead. A NASA instrument scientist and member of the ICESat-2 team later verified it was the first time the team had seen footage of the instrument's lasers in action. Fujii also documented a meteor striking the Moon last year, resulting in a flash on the satellite's surface akin to those captured this month.
Whether or not the recently recorded footage indicates Geminids hitting the Moon isn't entirely certain—though something is certainly there. An expert from the American Meteor Society shared with EarthSky that it's plausible the impact occurred due to a Geminid, as the enigmatic object collided with the Moon in the direction typically associated with such meteors.
If gazing up at the night sky dwelling on a chilly December night isn't your forte, don't fret. The Perseids, another vibrant meteor shower in our evening skies, emerges in July and early August, which could potentially appeal to you more. All you have to do is wait a bit longer.
The discovery of sodium in Phaethon's tail by the NASA-ESA mission last year could provide new insights into the origin of the Geminids, further advancing our understanding of space and technology. In the future, advancements in telescope technology and space exploration might enable us to witness and analyze such lunar impacts in real-time, revolutionizing our knowledge of celestial collisions and space debris.