The hunt for asteroid impacts on the moon heats up with new observatory

Image credit: ESA/NELIOTA

Meghan Bartels writes for Space.com: Sometimes a flash in the night is actually an asteroid slamming into the moon.Because such impacts offer valuable information about Earth's own barrage of space rocks, scientists have established programs that look for the brief bright flashes on the moon that represent lunar impacts. A new such telescope recently began operations, confirming observations of another telescope's 100th impact flash detection.

Having multiple eyes on the moon is valuable for scientists because other phenomena, like satellites passing overhead, can produce similar flashes in the data. But two observatories at different locations won't simultaneously see the same satellite: if both catch the same lunar flash at the same time, it's definitely real data. Read More