Identification of the lunar flash of 1953 with a fresh crater on the moon’s surface |
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| Authors: | Bonnie J Buratti Lane L Johnson |
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| Institution: | a Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Dr. 183-501, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
b Department of Physics and Astronomy, Pomona College, Claremont, CA 91711, USA |
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| Abstract: | A 1953 telescopic photograph of a flash on the Moon is the only unequivocal record of the rare crash of an asteroid-sized body onto the lunar surface. We estimate that this event would create an impact feature up to several km in size and that the diameter of the impacting body would be about 20 m. Such an event would cause regional devastation if it occurred on Earth. Although not detectable with ground- based telescopes, the lunar crater should be visible in space-based images of the Moon. A search of images from the Clementine mission reveals an ∼1.5-km high-albedo, blue, fresh-appearing crater with an associated ejecta blanket at the location of the flash. The identification of this crater offers an opportunity to investigate subsurface unaltered lunar soils. |
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| Keywords: | Moon surface Cratering Impact processes |
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