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A Japanese astronomer, Daichi Fujii, has captured a rare and dramatic event, the impact of a meteorite on the surface of the moon.

The Plaza of Stars is located on the third floor of the Hiratsuka City Museum. It houses a state-of-the-art space telescope that is used to monitor lunar events. This late model design Planetarium is curated by Fujii. And he was able to record the meteorite impact.

Meteorites hit the moon

Using cameras set up to monitor lunar events, Fujii recorded the moment the meteorite hit the moon in real-time. The incident occurred on February 23 at 20:14:30.8 Japan Standard Time (7:14 a.m. EST, or 1114 GMT), and the resulting images show a bright flash of visible light.

The meteorite is believed to have hit near the Ideler L crater, slightly northwest of the Pitiscus crater. 

Fujii estimates that the newly created crater could be around a dozen meters (39 feet) in diameter. Although it is unclear whether NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or India's Chandrayaan 2 lunar probe will eventually get images of the crater. One of the 24/7 scans will most likely capture the crater site in the future.

While meteorite impacts are relatively common on the moon, they are much less frequent on Earth. This is because the moon lacks a dense exosphere similar to Earth. And it is more vulnerable to meteorite impacts. 

The moon's surface is pockmarked with craters, caused by the constant pounding of meteorites. Capturing images of these events can help scientists understand more about the moon's surface.

Understanding more about the moon's surface is essential for future missions to the moon.

 The U.S. is currently leading the charge, with plans to send astronauts back to the moon by 2024 as part of the Artemis program. Other countries, such as China and Russia, are also preparing to launch their own astronauts on lunar missions.