Explosion on the moon
Discussion
Eric Mc said:
I saw that new sitem the other day. The impact was spotted because NASA are studying the moon properly again for the first time in over 30 years.
Yes, clearly the risks of being hit by space dust/debris is far greater on the moon, because there's no atmosphere. During the Leonids, or some such, there can be thousands of meteors per hour. I'm curious what would happen if one of the dust particles hit something man made! I reckon it would make a bit of a dent, because of the huge velocities involved!
srebbe64 said:Aye, your average random 'sporadic' meteor hits our atmosphere at about 20 km/s, Taurids are quicker at about 30 km/s but to get a decent buttonhole in your space suit you need a Leonid at 70 km/s, ouch.
Eric Mc said:
I saw that new sitem the other day. The impact was spotted because NASA are studying the moon properly again for the first time in over 30 years.
Yes, clearly the risks of being hit by space dust/debris is far greater on the moon, because there's no atmosphere. During the Leonids, or some such, there can be thousands of meteors per hour. I'm curious what would happen if one of the dust particles hit something man made! I reckon it would make a bit of a dent, because of the huge velocities involved!
BBC News website said:
The blast was equal in energy to about 70kg of TNT and was seen near the edge of Mare Imbrium
BBC News website also said:
One of the astronomers who observed the impact estimates that it gouged a crater 3m wide and 0.4m deep
Now I'm not an expert on explosives, but surely 70 kilo's of TNT would make a crater somewhat larger than 3 by 0.4 metres?
Standing by to be proven wrong
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