Analysis of the First Optical Detection of a Meteoroidal Impact on the Lunar Surface Recorded from Brazil

Analysis of the First Optical Detection of a Meteoroidal Impact on the Lunar Surface Recorded from Brazil

Two lunar flashes are reported and fully analyzed, with one of them fulfilling every criterion preconized in the literature for the characterization of an impact, including confirmation by two simultaneous observations. It happened at 07:13:46 UT on 14 December 2017, at the selenographic coordinates...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 14; no. 13; p. 2974
Main Authors: Duarte Cavalcante Pinto, David, Yanagisawa, Masahisa, Zurita, Marcelo Luiz do Prado Villarroel, Caldas, Romualdo Arthur Alencar, Domingues, Marcelo, Costa, Rafaela Lisboa, da Rocha Júnior, Rodrigo Lins, dos Santos Silva, Fabrício Daniel, Gomes, Heliofábio Barros, Gomes, Helber Barros, de Melo, Maria Luciene Dias, de Morais Teixeira, Lucas, da Silva Júnior, Ernande Roberto, Junior, Neftali Dias Cavalcante, Herdies, Dirceu Luís
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-07-2022
Subjects:
Atmosphere
Cameras
Collaboration
Comparative analysis
crater
impact flashes
Impactors
instrumentation
Laboratories
lunar remote sensing
Lunar surface
meteoroids
Meteors & meteorites
Moon
optical detection
Photometry
Radiation
Remote sensing
Selenography
Telescopes
Velocity
Brazil
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Summary:Two lunar flashes are reported and fully analyzed, with one of them fulfilling every criterion preconized in the literature for the characterization of an impact, including confirmation by two simultaneous observations. It happened at 07:13:46 UT on 14 December 2017, at the selenographic coordinates of 9.79° (±0.06°)N and 45.42 (±0.07°)E. The peak magnitudes in the R and V bands vary from 6.3 to 7.9 and from 7.4 to 9.0, respectively, depending on the observatory, as the cameras’ exposure times were considerably different. The impactor mass is estimated to be between 1.6 and 2.0 kg, with a diameter of 10 to 11 cm, having produced a crater of 8.4 to 8.9 m in diameter. Results for the second flash are also presented and discussed, although the confirmation of an impact was not possible due to a pause in the recordings at one of the sites. The observations took place as part of an inaugural observing campaign in Brazil for lunar impact flash (LIF) detection conceived by the Brazilian Meteor Observation Network (BRAMON) and were carried out by two teams located in different states in the Northeast Region of Brazil, about 353 km apart from each other, at a time when the Moon was crossing the densest part of the Geminid meteoroid stream in 2017. The observing setups included 0.13 m and 0.2 m telescopes, both equipped with sensitive cameras. The Maceió setup probably delivered the finest definition ever reported in the literature for lunar impact monitoring, resulting in high-accuracy positioning. This will certainly aid in finding the associated crater from orbiter images, which will substantiate another work, aimed at performing a comparative analysis between the results from our photometry and the data retrieved by the LRO images. These observations were also very likely the first and the only one so far made by a normal framerate camera and a long-exposure camera simultaneously. The associated benefits are commented on. The source of the impactors is also discussed. In view of the successful results of this experience, national observing campaigns of this kind will be given continuation.
ISSN:2072-4292
2072-4292
DOI:10.3390/rs14132974