Young crater sited on Moon

[January 6, 2003] - Last month, word arrived that JPL researchers had identified a crater that is not so old at all.

In 1953 an amateur astronomer – a strolling astronomer, in fact -- noted a flash point on the Moon, and marked the location. But evidential confirmation of related crater residue was not immediately forthcoming. It was thought to be an asteroid hit, but it was too small to be identified by earth telescopes. Time passed, and JPL scientists correlated the site of the flash to 1960s and 1970s spacecraft observations of the Moon’s surface.

The moon has been constantly bombarded with meteorites and such debris, geologists and planetary scientists have concluded. If this is ongoing as they conjecture, it should be observable. But nobody’s seen what they foresaw. Thus the importance of this latest study.

Precedents here are few. In historical records, a Moon flash observed in 1178 is thought by some to be Bruno, a far side Moon crater.

The JPL group estimates the energy of the 1953 event was about 0.5 megatons, resulting in a 1-2 km sized impact feature. A search of Clementine Moon probe images revealed a 1.5 km feature at the location of the flash. Spectral analysis of the crater revealed it to be bluer and fresher than other young craters. So the spectral omens point to a youngish crater.

Last update: 4/12/2003; 11:47:31 AM.