In the fall of 2013, a meteorite about the size of a car crashed into the Moon. If you were looking at our satellite at that time, you might have noticed a flash on its surface - an explosion that occurred due to the collision. And if you haven’t seen it, you can watch the video below, and also learn a little more about meteorites and craters.

This is how the artist painted a meteorite falling on the moon. Drawing

A meteorite measuring about one and a half meters and weighing about half a ton crashed into the lunar surface with enormous speed- 17 kilometers per second (moving at this speed, you would cross the whole of Moscow in a couple of seconds). At the same time, a very powerful explosion, and as a result, a new crater about 40 meters in size appeared on the Moon. In the very near future, scientists will photograph the “newborn” crater and we will be able to admire it. In the meantime, you can watch a video of the explosion:

Photographs of the Moon clearly show that its entire surface is literally pitted with craters, although most of them are old craters that appeared in an era when the Solar System was very young. But even now, a meteorite falling on the Moon is not such a rarity, but usually they are smaller. The explosion that occurred this time turned out to be the strongest, and the flash the longest of all those observed before (it lasted about 8 seconds, and usually several times less). It is likely that when the meteorite crashed into the surface, a molten substance, heated to a high temperature, was thrown out of the crater. This substance could glow for some time after the explosion itself.

You yourself can find young craters in lunar photographs. Around them, as a rule, bright diverging rays are visible - this is the substance that was thrown out of the crater during the explosion. These traces disappear over time, so if they are there, then what you see is a more or less young crater.

Of course, meteorites don't just fall on the Moon. For example, a new crater was recently discovered on Mars. It was not possible to notice the meteorite fall itself, but the crater was found by comparing photographs of Mars taken in different years by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. In 2010 it did not exist yet, but in May 2012 it already appeared. Here, too, diverging rays are visible, since the crater is very young.

Young Martian crater. Photo from here

Such events occur very often, and the appearance cosmic bodies can change right before our eyes. Of course, meteorites also fall to Earth (remember, for example, the famous Chelyabinsk meteorite, which fell about a year ago). But our planet has a big advantage compared to the Moon or Mars - dense air envelope, which perfectly protects us from the fall of cosmic bodies, our atmosphere. Almost all bodies falling from space into the atmosphere simply burn up in it, and only a few reach the surface. But even despite such protection, every day tons of meteorite matter fall onto the Earth, but usually these are very small meteorites, or even dust... So the next time you tidy up your home, remember that some of the dust that has accumulated in the far corner of your closet , could well have flown to you from space, having previously traveled millions of kilometers.

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Simulation of a meteorite fall, in slow motion. A glass ball is dropped into a mixture of light flour and dark cocoa-You can try this experiment at home!

recorded the fall of a meteorite on the Moon, in the Sea of ​​Rains. The brightness of the flash, which became the brightest of all observations, made it possible to see it with the naked eye.

The energy of the explosion is estimated at 5 tons of TNT equivalent, and the mass of the fallen object is, according to preliminary data, 40 kilograms. When the meteorite collided with the surface, scientists believe it formed a crater with a diameter of approximately 20 meters. NASA experts suggest that photographing the Sea of ​​Mons using the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will make it possible to accurately determine the crash site and clarify the parameters of the meteorite.

Flash from meteorite fall detected within specialized program observation of the surface of the Moon, organized in 2005 to monitor meteorites falling on this celestial body. The Lunar Impact Monitoring program was launched to identify meteor showers whose orbits intersect the Earth's orbit. Since the Moon is devoid of an atmosphere, meteorites do not burn up, but reach the surface and their collision can be detected due to flashes during the collision. Observing the Moon allows you to detect the passage through meteor showers, capable of threatening our planet and, in addition, more accurately assessing the density of meteorites in our part solar system. On the same night that scientists discovered the flare, a number of meteors were observed in the Earth's atmosphere, which, according to NASA scientists, indicates their common origin from one thread.

By modern estimates, about 33 tons of cosmic matter fall on Earth per day, and the absolute majority of it is represented by dust and grains of sand. It is still unclear how many meteorites weighing more than a kilogram can fall on the Moon: some data estimate about 260 cases per year, others double it higher value. For future manned missions precise definition the degree of meteorite threat has great importance, and observations of the Moon using relatively modest telescopes make it possible to solve the problem without sending special spacecraft.

http://lenta.ru/news/2013/05/17/moonimpact/

Astronomers have recorded the most powerful meteorite impact on the Moon in 8 years

An object the size of a small boulder fell into the Sea of ​​Rains. The explosion was accompanied by a flash that was about 10 times brighter than anything NASA had seen so far.

MOSCOW, May 17 – RIA Novosti. NASA astronomers, who have been monitoring meteorite impacts on the Moon since 2005, have recorded the most powerful meteorite explosion since records began, NASA reported Friday.

"An object about the size of a small block fell into the Mare Mons. The explosion was accompanied by a flash that was about 10 times brighter than anything we had seen so far," says Bill Cooke of NASA's meteor research division. . NASA specialists have been continuously observing the Moon for eight years, recording flashes that occur when meteors and small asteroids fall in order to assess the level of meteorite danger for future expeditions to the Moon. Since the launch of the program

more than 300 falls were observed.

Last fall, our planet's satellite collided with a huge celestial body traversing the universe at a speed of 61,000 km/h. The flash resulting from the collision was so strong that it could be observed from the ground. Astronomers from Spain claim that it was the most large meteorite, of all who have ever encountered the Moon.

Professor José Madiedo (a scientist from the University of Huelva) said that the flash observed when a meteorite collides with the Moon can usually be seen within a few fractions of a second. This time the glow was almost as bright as polar Star, and it could be observed for 8 seconds.

Astronomers have calculated that the mass of the celestial body colliding with the Moon should be at least 400 kilograms. This released energy that can be equated to the explosion of 15,000 kg of TNT. Scientists said that this energy is enough for the Moon to acquire a new crater with a diameter of about 40 meters.

Another heavenly sign?

People have long believed that extraordinary celestial phenomena can be considered a sign significant events. For example, the appearance of a comet evoked associations with wars, disasters, epidemics and pestilence. It has received a particularly ominous reputation, crossing the sky once every 76 years and each time bringing various disasters.

The fall of a meteorite, unlike the fall of a star, also cannot be considered a lucky omen. Different peoples (Egyptians, Sumerians, Aztecs) interpret such an event differently. However, their interpretations agree on one thing - the fall of a meteorite means a great upcoming shock, global changes. Can the meteorite that collided with the Moon on September 11, 2013 be considered simply a lifeless celestial body? Or is this an omen of future significant events and disasters?