Overview
- Daichi Fujii captured bright, split-second flashes on October 30 and November 1 and posted high-frame-rate videos on X.
- The first event occurred east of Gassendi crater and the second near Oceanus Procellarum less than 48 hours later.
- Preliminary estimates for the October 30 flash indicate an impactor of about 0.2 kilograms traveling near 27 km/s, producing an roughly 8th-magnitude, 0.1-second burst and an estimated 3-meter crater.
- Observers point to the Taurid meteor showers as the likely source of the meteoroids based on timing and typical entry speeds.
- NASA has not publicly verified the flashes during the government shutdown, and researchers are looking to Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaging for confirmation.