See a rock smack the moon during the super blood wolf eclipse
The weekend's lunar eclipse got a little more exciting with the arrival of a meteoroid.
The dramatically named "super blood wolf moon eclipse" of Jan. 20 and 21 was a sight to behold all on its own. Then, some sharp-eyed telescope observers noticed a flash of extracurricular activity when a meteoroid created a bright pinpoint of light on the lunar surface.
Multiple telescope feeds captured the impact, which likely left behind a fresh crater on the pockmarked moon.
A livestream feed from Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles shows the flash, which happened at the height of the eclipse.
The MIDAS Survey, which monitors moon impacts, confirmed the touchdown and says it was produced by a meteoroid that hit the lunar ground.
The moon has earned its craters. Our space neighbor lacks an atmosphere like we have on Earth, so rocks don't burn up on approach. Even a small meteoroid can create a bright flash when it hits the lunar surface.
Lunar impacts are common, but what makes this one so fun is the sheer number of telescopes turned toward the moon for eclipse observations.
The brief blast may have eluded most viewers at the time it happened, but we can now look back through the footage and spot the shining moment when a meteoroid landed during an epic eclipse.
