An astronomer may have captured Geminid meteor strikes on the Moon. Daichi Fuiji, a photographer and the curator of Hiratsuka City Museum in Japan, recently shared a visual captured using his telescope. It shows bright flashes on the Moon which may have caused by a meteor impact.
This is highly likely as Earth is passing through the debris of the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, source of the Geminid meteor shower. It’s possible the Moon is also in the range of the debris trail. The meteor shower, which is the brightest and biggest of the year, will peak on December 13-14, NASA said. Although, a few meteors can be seen until December 21-22.
今夜はもう1つ月面衝突閃光がありました。2024年12月8日22時34分35秒に自宅から360fpsで撮影し(スロー再生)、複数台の望遠鏡で確認できました。連日明るい流星や火球が流れていますが、月面衝突閃光も続けて捉えられています。 pic.twitter.com/iHUq9EuXQg
— 藤井大地 (@dfuji1) December 8, 2024
Taking to X, Fuiji shared his observation of the bright flashes on the lunar surface from December 8.
“There was another lunar impact flash tonight. I filmed it at 360fps from my home at 22:34:35 on December 8, 2024 (slow playback) and was able to confirm it with multiple telescopes. Bright meteors and fireballs have been appearing every day, but lunar impact flashes have also been captured one after another,” he captioned his post.
私の観測史上最大の月面衝突閃光を捉えることができました！2023年2月23日20時14分30.8秒に出現した月面衝突閃光を、平塚の自宅から撮影した様子です（実際の速度で再生）。なんと1秒以上も光り続ける巨大閃光でした。月は大気がないため流星や火球は見られず、クレーターができる瞬間に光ります。 pic.twitter.com/Bi2JhQa9Q0
— 藤井大地 (@dfuji1) February 24, 2023
Fuiji posted a video of lunar impact last year as well. He recorded a meteor striking the Moon on February 23.
“Since the moon has no atmosphere, meteors and fireballs cannot be seen, and it only shines at the moment a crater is formed,” he said.
明るい火球が流れました！2024年12月13日4時9分32秒の火球を、富士から南の高い空に向けたカメラで捉えた様子です。流星痕が1分以上残りました。ふたご座流星群がピークを迎えていますが、散在流星の火球でした。 pic.twitter.com/MNUouTW1h0
— 藤井大地 (@dfuji1) December 12, 2024
The photographer has shared multiple images and videos of the meteors streaking across the sky lately.
According to Space.com, Fuiji predicted that the lunar crater made by the meteor after impact could measure around 39 feet in diameter. It could be imaged by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or India’s Chandrayaan 2 orbiter later, he said.
ALSO SEE: Geminid Meteor Shower 2024: All About This Year’s Best Cosmic Show And When To Spot It
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(Image: X/@dfuji1)
