Spanish Observatory Spots Largest Known Meteor Striking the Moon

Seville, Spain – Two telescopes at the country’s MIDAS (Moon Impacts Detection and Analysis System) Observatory captured a meteor striking the moon’s surface at a speed of 61,000 km/h (~38,000 mph).

The impact caused a flash of light large enough to be seen from earth. The result was a crater 40 meters (~131 feet) in diameter. It is estimated that the meteor weighed 400 kg (~880 lbs), but it measured only 1 meter in diameter.

The flash of light spawned by the impact took roughly 8 seconds to fade away. Ground zero was at the lunar basin called Mare Nubium which is believed to be filled with hardened lava. In terms of the force of the impact, astronomers believe it measured at 15 tons of dynamite making it the strongest recorded meteor strike. The record was set only last March and recorded by NASA.

As it turns out, conditions were optimum for capturing the impact given that the two telescopes in question were focused on the dark side of the moon where light from meteoric impacts are easily visible against the dark backdrop of that side of the moon. The time of the impact was 8:07PM GMT.

Source:
Meteorite smashes into moon in largest lunar impact ever recorded
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/24/meteorite-moon-largest-lunar-impact-recorded