by johnnydeep » Thu Oct 08, 2020 2:05 pm
DL MARTIN wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 8:23 am
With all the impact craters evident, does the Moon serve serve as a sort of protective fly trap for Earth?
Well, I'm sure there were some meteorites that hit the moon instead of hitting the earth had the moon not been there, but because of the moon's small size and large distance (currently about 30 earth diameters) I don't think it is a very effective shield. The profusion of craters on the moon is due to the vastness of time and almost no errosional processes being active on the moon (besides newer impacts wiping out older craters!). That said, lunar impacts seem to be pretty frequent, as these stories from 2013 and 2019 indicate:
From
https://www.space.com/24789-moon-meteor ... osion.html:
Video footage of the record-breaking meteorite strike on the moon, which occurred on Sept. 11, 2013 and was unveiled today (Feb. 24), shows a long flash that was almost as bright as the North Star Polaris. That means the boulder-sized meteorite's lunar crash could have been visible to anyone on Earth who happened to be staring up at the moon at 8:07 p.m. GMT, weather permitting.
...
The space rock hit at a staggering speed of 37,900 mph (61,000 km/h), gouging out a new crater roughly 131 feet (40 meters) wide in an ancient lava-filled lunar basin known as Mare Nubium, Madiedo and colleagues said. The scientists think the boulder behind the crash was about 880 lbs. (400 kg) and measured between 2 and 4.5 feet (0.6 and 1.4 meters) in diameter.
If a space rock this size hit the Earth, it might create some spectacular fireball meteors, but it likely would not pose a threat to people on the ground, researchers explained. But the moon lacks an atmosphere like the one enshrouding our planet, making it quite vulnerable to incoming asteroids.
From
https://www.space.com/meteorite-hits-mo ... lipse.html:
A meteorite smashed into the moon's surface at 38,000 miles per hour (61,000 kilometers per hour) while our lunar neighbor was in total eclipse in January, a new report reveals.
Observers saw a flash during the Jan. 20 to 21 [2019] eclipse, when the object collided with the moon and carved out a crater about 10 to 15 meters (33 to 50 feet) in diameter. It was traveling fast enough to have been able to cross the United States in just a few minutes, but, luckily for Earth, it slammed into the moon instead.
Astronomers measured a 0.28-second flash from the impact, the first ever filmed during a lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipses happen when the moon passes into the Earth's shadow during its normal orbit around our planet. The moon turns a reddish or orange color, because only sunlight around the edges of Earth's shadow can reach the moon's surface.
[quote="DL MARTIN" post_id=306956 time=1602145404]
With all the impact craters evident, does the Moon serve serve as a sort of protective fly trap for Earth?
[/quote]
Well, I'm sure there were some meteorites that hit the moon instead of hitting the earth had the moon not been there, but because of the moon's small size and large distance (currently about 30 earth diameters) I don't think it is a very effective shield. The profusion of craters on the moon is due to the vastness of time and almost no errosional processes being active on the moon (besides newer impacts wiping out older craters!). That said, lunar impacts seem to be pretty frequent, as these stories from 2013 and 2019 indicate:
From https://www.space.com/24789-moon-meteorite-impact-brightest-lunar-explosion.html:
[quote]Video footage of the record-breaking meteorite strike on the moon, which occurred on [b]Sept. 11, 2013[/b] and was unveiled today (Feb. 24), shows a long flash that was almost as bright as the North Star Polaris. That means the boulder-sized meteorite's lunar crash could have been visible to anyone on Earth who happened to be staring up at the moon at 8:07 p.m. GMT, weather permitting.
...
The space rock hit at a staggering speed of 37,900 mph (61,000 km/h), gouging out a new crater roughly 131 feet (40 meters) wide in an ancient lava-filled lunar basin known as Mare Nubium, Madiedo and colleagues said. The scientists think the boulder behind the crash was about 880 lbs. (400 kg) and measured between 2 and 4.5 feet (0.6 and 1.4 meters) in diameter.
If a space rock this size hit the Earth, it might create some spectacular fireball meteors, but it likely would not pose a threat to people on the ground, researchers explained. But the moon lacks an atmosphere like the one enshrouding our planet, making it quite vulnerable to incoming asteroids.[/quote]
From https://www.space.com/meteorite-hits-moon-during-2019-lunar-eclipse.html:
[quote]A meteorite smashed into the moon's surface at 38,000 miles per hour (61,000 kilometers per hour) while our lunar neighbor was in total eclipse in January, a new report reveals.
Observers saw a flash during the J[b]an. 20 to 21 [2019][/b] eclipse, when the object collided with the moon and carved out a crater about 10 to 15 meters (33 to 50 feet) in diameter. It was traveling fast enough to have been able to cross the United States in just a few minutes, but, luckily for Earth, it slammed into the moon instead.
Astronomers measured a 0.28-second flash from the impact, the first ever filmed during a lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipses happen when the moon passes into the Earth's shadow during its normal orbit around our planet. The moon turns a reddish or orange color, because only sunlight around the edges of Earth's shadow can reach the moon's surface.[/quote]