There’s A Full Moon Tonight, And You Can Investigate A Lunar Crash Site
We recommend watching the webcast while wearing a deerstalker cap.
Last September 11th, an asteroid collided with the moon at speeds of over 37,000 miles per hour, creating the brightest lunar explosion we’ve ever seen. Tonight’s full moon will give astronomers the opportunity to investigate the site of the lunar impact; oh, and through a live webcast, you can watch too!
Known sometimes as the “Full Worm Moon” because apparently spring is supposed to be on the way (I’ll believe it when I see it), tonight’s moon was completely full as of 1:08pm EDT. It’s the perfect moment – weather permitting – for everyone to examine the site of that amazing lunar impact from about seven months ago. The four-and-a-half-foot asteroid smashed into the Mare Nubium basin, creating a 131-foot wide crater in the moon’s surface. The increased visibility of the moon’s surface tonight makes it ideal for checking out the crash site.
The investigation will be webcast live from the Slooh Space Camera starting at 9pm, and you can watch it right here:
(via Space.com, image via Pete Riesett)
- What space would be like if the moon were only one pixel wide
- NASA’s starting a mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa
- We’ve had some close asteroid calls lately, guys
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