By Tim Binnall
An amazing video captured by an astronomer in Japan shows the moment when a meteorite smashes into the moon and the impact creates a sizeable flash. The remarkable scene was reportedly spotted last month by Daichi Fujii from the Hiratsuka City Museum as he was watching the lunar surface by way of a telescope at his home. Sharing the footage of what he marveled was "the biggest lunar impact flash in my observation history" on Twitter, the astronomer noted that the illumination "continued to shine for more than one second."
Fujii went on to explain that "since the moon has no atmosphere, meteors and fireballs cannot be seen, and the moment a crater is formed, it glows." Based on the size of the impact spot, the astronomer speculated that the object left an approximately 40-foot-diameter indentation in the moon upon smashing into the lunar surface. The astronomer now hopes that the fresh crater can be more closely examined by either NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or a similar probe being operated by India's space agency.