Space rock hit Moon

Space rock hit Moon
Question: What is the spatial event on which Space rock hit Moon during recent times?
(a) Solar eclipse
(b) Lunar eclipse
(c) Total lunar eclipse
(d) Blue Moon
Answer: (c)
Related facts:
  • A space rock collided with the Moon at a speed of 61,000 km/hr during the total lunar eclipse in January, 2019, excavating a crater 10 to 15 metres.
  • Observers watching the total eclipse of the Moon on 21st January, 2019, witnessed a short-lived flash as a meteorite hit the lunar surface. 
  • Researchers from the University of Huelva and Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia in Spain used 8 telescopes to monitor the lunar surface during the event.
  • The impact flash lasted 0.28 seconds and is the first ever filmed during a lunar eclipse, despite a number of earlier attempts.
  • The incoming rock had a mass of 45 kilogrammes, measured 30 to 60 centimeters across, and hit the surface at 61,000 km/hr. The impact site is close to the crater Lagrange H, near the west-south-west portion of the lunar limb.
  • The impact energy is estimated to have been an equivalent to 1.5 tonnes of TNT. The debris ejected is estimated to have reached a peak temperature of 5,400 degrees Celsius, roughly the same as the surface of the Sun.

                                                                                                            Abhinav Mishra

Links:

https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/space-rock-hit-moon-during-januarys-total-eclipse-5708931/

https://phys.org/news/2019-04-space-moon-kilometers-hour.html