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According to a recent article by Space.com writer Clara Moskowitz, a meteorite that crashed in to the moon’s surface on March 17 has resulted in a new hole on the moon’s surface.
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The meteorite is said to have been traveling at 56,000 mph when it struck the moon’s surface. Researchers at NASA did not see the impact as it occurred but that the light caused by the impact would have been visible to the naked eye.
The 88 lb meteorite is estimated to have been 1 foot wide and carried the the force of five tons of TNT upon explosion.
Unlike the Earth, the moon has no atmosphere to protect it from impact from space rocks like this meteorite. The collision itself is noteworthy because it is the single largest one of its kind since researchers at NASA began monitoring the moon’s surface.
The new crater on the surface of the moon measures in at 65 feet wide and NASA researchers hope that NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be able to snap some pictures. It is hoped that research of the pictures will help to determine just how the crater occurred.
