Re: Total solar eclipse to be seen across the U.S.
Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 6:53 pm
What Would Happen If Extinction Asteroid Struck Luna?
John Cate, studied at Strayer University
Answered on May 4th...
This may have actually happened in historical times.
In the year 1178, five English monks were observing
the Moon when something bizarre happened:
"From the midpoint of the division a flaming torch sprang
up, spewing out, over a considerable distance, fire, hot
coals and sparks. Meanwhile the body of the Moon which was
below writhed, as it were in anxiety, and to put it in the
words of those who reported it to me and saw it with their
own eyes, the Moon throbbed like a wounded snake. Afterwards
it resumed its proper state. This phenomenon was repeated
a dozen times or more, the flame assuming various twisting
shapes at random and then returning to normal. Then, after
these transformations, the Moon from horn to horn, that is
along its whole length, took on a blackish appearance."
This was reported by the chronicler of the Abbot of Canterbury
to have taken place on 18 June 1178. Based on the description
and the location on the moon this likely would have occurred
at, many scientists believe this is an account of a large
asteroid striking the Moon and creating the Giordano Bruno
crater—the only major crater on the Moon’s surface new enough
to have been created in historical times.
If this is indeed what they observed, then nothing happened
to Earth. Many scientists actually reject the Giordano Bruno
explanation, because there was no meteor shower reported by
medieval astronomers anywhere in the world in June 1178—and
it’s extremely likely that some of the impact debris would
have been blasted toward Earth, enough for a major shower.
The Chinese, in particular, were very diligent about observing
the skies, as were some of the learned men in the Islamic
Caliphate’s capital of Baghdad. Just three years later, a
bright supernova appeared in the skies, and we have voluminous
accounts of it from both China and Japan.
If the event of 1178 was the creation of the Giordano Bruno
crater, then it seems that the Moon is far away enough that
a large asteroid strike may not affect the Earth at all, at
least under certain conditions. Even if it wasn’t, most
scientists believe that all that would happen would be that
some of the debris would enter the Earth’s atmosphere and
create a spectacular meteor shower for a few days. The real
danger, of course, is if a large bolide struck the Earth itself.
John Cate, studied at Strayer University
Answered on May 4th...
This may have actually happened in historical times.
In the year 1178, five English monks were observing
the Moon when something bizarre happened:
"From the midpoint of the division a flaming torch sprang
up, spewing out, over a considerable distance, fire, hot
coals and sparks. Meanwhile the body of the Moon which was
below writhed, as it were in anxiety, and to put it in the
words of those who reported it to me and saw it with their
own eyes, the Moon throbbed like a wounded snake. Afterwards
it resumed its proper state. This phenomenon was repeated
a dozen times or more, the flame assuming various twisting
shapes at random and then returning to normal. Then, after
these transformations, the Moon from horn to horn, that is
along its whole length, took on a blackish appearance."
This was reported by the chronicler of the Abbot of Canterbury
to have taken place on 18 June 1178. Based on the description
and the location on the moon this likely would have occurred
at, many scientists believe this is an account of a large
asteroid striking the Moon and creating the Giordano Bruno
crater—the only major crater on the Moon’s surface new enough
to have been created in historical times.
If this is indeed what they observed, then nothing happened
to Earth. Many scientists actually reject the Giordano Bruno
explanation, because there was no meteor shower reported by
medieval astronomers anywhere in the world in June 1178—and
it’s extremely likely that some of the impact debris would
have been blasted toward Earth, enough for a major shower.
The Chinese, in particular, were very diligent about observing
the skies, as were some of the learned men in the Islamic
Caliphate’s capital of Baghdad. Just three years later, a
bright supernova appeared in the skies, and we have voluminous
accounts of it from both China and Japan.
If the event of 1178 was the creation of the Giordano Bruno
crater, then it seems that the Moon is far away enough that
a large asteroid strike may not affect the Earth at all, at
least under certain conditions. Even if it wasn’t, most
scientists believe that all that would happen would be that
some of the debris would enter the Earth’s atmosphere and
create a spectacular meteor shower for a few days. The real
danger, of course, is if a large bolide struck the Earth itself.