On 12 December 2025 At 03:09:36 UTC, astronomers on the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) have captured what’s believed to be the primary video recording of a lunar influence flash in Eire, and the second recorded from the UK!
What you possibly can see is a short flash of sunshine on the Moon’s night time aspect, in keeping with a small meteoroid hanging the lunar floor. The occasion was captured utilizing the Armagh Robotic Telescope (ART), situated on web site on the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, by Andrew Marshall-Lee, a final-year PhD scholar at AOP.
Lunar influence flashes are uncommon occasions and are seen solely very often, though they’re extra more likely to be detected throughout main meteor showers when the Moon passes by way of streams of particles left behind by comets and asteroids. This statement occurred through the peak of the Geminid meteor bathe, making Geminids the most probably origin, although we’re nonetheless investigating it!
The objects chargeable for these flashes are sometimes very small, usually smaller than a golf ball, and are far too faint to be seen with a telescope whereas in area. Once they strike the Moon at extraordinarily excessive speeds, which on this case is estimated to have been round 35 km/s, their kinetic vitality is quickly transformed into warmth and lightweight. This briefly vaporises materials on the influence web site and produces the flash seen from Earth.
Lunar influence flashes often final solely fractions of a second and are troublesome to detect. Nevertheless, it’s attainable for skilled observers utilizing telescopes of round 20 cm aperture or bigger to look at them, however doing so requires quick cameras, cautious monitoring of the Moon’s darkish aspect, and a substantial amount of persistence.
We’ll be working exhausting to analyze all the small print of the occasion however capturing this second is a good achievement for AOP.
