Get up close and personal with the gibbous moon in a search for the impact crater left behind by the biggest explosion from a meteorite impact seen on the lunar surface. The live show from the Slooh Space Camera will begin tonight at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST.
Two months ago, a 40-kilogram boulder crashed into the moon's Mare Imbrium at about 90,000 kph. NASA scientists watch the moon for such impacts but the resulting flash was the largest seen in the eight years of monitoring. Because the moon has no oxygen, the flash came not from fiery flames but rather the thermal glow of hot rock and vapors.
Slooh's team will search for the impact scar of this event, a crater estimated to be about 60 meters in diameter, nearly the length of a Boeing-747. Slooh will have astronomer and columnist for Astronomy magazine Bob Berman on hand to discuss the event, which coincided with a number of fireballs observed crashing through the Earth's atmosphere, suggesting that both worlds were pelted by meteoroids at about the same time. The Slooh team will also talk about impact events in the solar system in general, including the large bollide that exploded over Russia earlier this year.
Video: Slooh Space Camera
