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Space Science

Explosion on Moon Spreads Moondust 160

Posted by Zonk from the what-did-you-do-pinky? dept.
Jotii writes "NASA scientists have observed an explosion on the moon. The blast, equal in energy to about 70 kg of TNT, occurred near the edge of Marethe Sea of Rains on Nov. 7, 2005, when a 12-centimeter-wide meteoroid slammed into the ground. The main danger of such explosions is the static and toxic moondust, which is thrown around."
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Explosion on Moon Spreads Moondust More

Explosion on Moon Spreads Moondust

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  • Danger? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Tx ( 96709 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @07:46AM (#14331748) Journal
    The main danger of such explosions is the static and toxic moondust, which is thrown around.

    Danger to whom exactly? Should I be hitting the bunker to dodge that toxic moondust?

    • Re:Danger? (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Danger to whom exactly?

      To the man on the moon, silly!

      -Sj53

    • Re:Danger? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Jotii ( 932365 )

      Danger to whom exactly?

      To the astronauts. The dust is poisonous, is flung rapidly, and sticks to the astronauts.

    • Re:Danger? (Score:5, Funny)

      by HermanAB ( 661181 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @08:33AM (#14331839)
      Well, any moonestrials should be immune to moon dust... or maybe not, which would explain why there aren't any.

      So, if you find yourself outside on the moon, without the luxury of a space suit, don't breathe in...
      • I would also add . . .
        Don't breath out eather !

      • Re:Danger? (Score:2, Funny)

        by BlindRobin ( 768267 )
        moonestrials
        shouldn't that be lunestrials?
        or would that have some side effects including drowsyness ?
        • I would guess that the side effects of breathing moon dust in vacuum, would be rather more extreme than drowsiness. Someone should launch an epidemiological study, a double blind test: 50 volunteers to breathe moon dust and the other 50 to breathe pure vacuum as a placebo...
      • moonestrials? They object to being slapped with your terran labels. As lunar citizens they prefer to be called Lunies.
      • I think you mean "Lunarians".

      • Re:Danger? (Score:3, Funny)

        by brucifer ( 12972 )
        I think the term you are looking for is "Mooninites". Observe this transcript of part of a recent visit by some of their more advanced citizens.

        ignignokt: we are the mooninites and our culture is advanced beyond all that you can possibly comprehend with 100% of your brain
        frylock: oh is that so and what is so advanced about it
        ignignokt: well for 1 thing the moon has 1/3 less gravity than your earth i don't know if you can understand that but our vertical leap is beyond all measurement
        frylock: so what your

    • Re:Danger? (Score:4, Informative)

      by DeathByDuke ( 823199 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @09:09AM (#14331902)
      moon dust is heavily corrosive, its not fine grained smooth surfaced like the dust on earth, it hasnt been 'weathered' etc and so still has spikes etc on its surface. Apollo astronauts found it corroded a lot of their equipment and spacesuits due to the friction and the tearing properties of the dust.

      Nasa has reason to be concerned since it could tear open a spacesuit or corrode a bases walls over time.

      • Re:Danger? (Score:5, Informative)

        by pnewhook ( 788591 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @09:45AM (#14331968)
        moon dust is heavily corrosive, its not fine grained smooth surfaced like the dust on earth

        Actually it can be very fine grained. The closest analogy I've seen officially used for testing vehicles for the moon is fine dry Portland cement.

        Dust on earth is primarily ash, flakes of skin, dust mites, and dust mite fecal matter, so moon dust is certainly not like earth dust.

        • Re:Danger? (Score:2, Funny)

          by sd_diamond ( 839492 )

          Dust on earth is primarily ash, flakes of skin, dust mites, and dust mite fecal matter,

          Well, that's the last time I empty my vacuum cleaner's basket without gloves.

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • The word you're looking for there is 'abrasive'. Abrasive. Not corrosive.
      • or corrode a bases walls over time

        Yes, because of those strongly westerly breezes on the moon that blow the dust around... Come on, unless the base walls move and someone keeps kicking dust at them, they will be just fine.
    • The danger is that the moondust might corrode the aiming system on our friggin moon-based laser beam.

    • Re:Danger? (Score:3, Funny)

      by VJ42 ( 860241 )
      The Clangers [wikipedia.org] perhaps? I expect that the soup dragon isn't too happy either.
    • What I was wondering is, when exactly is moondust considered toxic? When inhaled I would venture a guess.

      And just who do they think is breathing on the moon?
    • You can head to the bunker all you want, but it won't help. Asteroid showers are much like rain showers - they start with a few 'drops' and end in an outright shower/hail.

      May the Lord Jesus (happy birthday, br0!) keep us good Republicans safe.

  • In Other News: Research stolen. Lawsuit Pending (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 24, 2005 @07:51AM (#14331758)
    "Moondust is electrostatically charged and notoriously clingy." --Dr. Tony Phillips, 2005

    "But moondust will cover you. Cover you." --David Bowie, 1996
  • Is it me or does the artist's rendering of the incident look like a bunch of carmel corn is bursting forth from the crust of the earth?

    Looks like a 'carmel' variety Pop Secret commercial.

  • How do they know the size and speed of the object? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MichaelSmith ( 789609 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @07:52AM (#14331762) Homepage Journal

    Obviously they can calculate the objects kinetic energy from the intensity of the flash. This will give them mass or speed, but not both. Perhaps the speed came from their assumption about the origin of the meteoroid, but that could still be wrong, of course.

    BTW if anybody is interested in exactly what it was like to be walking on the moon in the 60's and 70's I recommend they have a look at the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal [nasa.gov]

    • Re:How do they know the size and speed of the obje (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Eh, if you know the kinetic energy wouldn't you know the *product* of the mass AND speed, but not either individually?

      Been a while since I've taken physics but it seems intuitive...
      • He asked the size and speed. All that can be inferred is the energy of the strike. The mass can be derived from that along a range of impact speeds, but the diameter is nothing but pure guesswork.

        For instance, if the meteoroid was iron, it could deliver the same impact in a smaller package. If it was primarily carbonaceous chondrite, it would have to be much larger.

        Note in the summary only the diameter is given (stated as fact), not the mass or speed of the object. The summary was weak from a scientific sta
        • You would think the danger of moondust is that it kills on contact or something.

          Dust accumulation was thought to be a major life limiting factor for the Mars Exploration Rovers, but it turns out that dust devils blow dust off the solar panels and keep them relatively clean.

          One of the two early soviet lunar rovers died when it got caught in some rough terrain and collected some dust on a radiator. It was killed by heat accumulation shortly after.

          The apollo lunar roving vehicles (and their occupants) colle

      • Acutally half the product of the mass and the *square* of the speed is the kenetic energy. In this case, kenetic energy K = (mv^2)/2.

        Not that this is practically that different from the view point of calcualting the mass or the speed.

    • BTW if anybody is interested in exactly what it was like to be walking on the moon in the 60's and 70's I recommend they have a look at the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal

      and/or go see Magnificent Desolation [imax.com] in your nearest IMAX theater. I've seen it and it's very impressive.

    • Re:How do they know the size and speed of the obje (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      BTW if anybody is interested in exactly what it was like to be walking on the moon in the 60's and 70's I recommend they have a look at the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal

      On the other hand, if you interested what it was like during the 80's, I recommend viewing a Micheal Jackson [michaeljackson.com] video.

    • Obviously they can calculate the objects kinetic energy from the intensity of the flash.

      There are several ways they can go, but some supposition is needed.

      They can estimate the product of speed and mass from the flash. IF they can examine the crater depth they can get some idea of the two factors. Large slow (reletively speaking) impacts might for example produce large shallow craters while small very fast objects produce deeper smaller craters.

      Without examining the crater, they have the intensity a

    • They believe that the object was a Taurid. A quick Google shows their speed about 65000 mph, which translates to 29 kps. I bet the 2 kps difference comes from the moon's relative speed at the impact.

    • Journal entry: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      July 21, 1969

      TRANQUITY BASE: This is Tranquility Base. The Eagle has landed.
      Jesus H. Christ, Houston, we're on the fucking moon. Over.

      HOUSTON: Roger. Tranquility we copy you. We cannot believe you
      are on the fucking moon. Repeat. Cannot fucking believe it. Over.

      TRANQUILITY: It was a smooth touchdown. The moon for Christ's
      sake, the moon. Over.

      HOUSTON: Roger that. You're clear for TI, walking on the moon. Over.

      TRANQUILITY: We copy. Walking on the moon. Jesus. Over.

      HOUSTON: We read you. Over.

      TRANQUILITY: I'm on

  • Danger?! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Cally ( 10873 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @08:00AM (#14331781) Homepage
    The main danger of such explosions is the static and toxic moondust, which is thrown around."

    The main danger to what, the other moon rocks lying around within 10m of the impact point? Gimme a break, already!

    The space.com headline [space.com] is a bit closer to the mark... "Small space rock spotted hitting the moon".

    --
    Sometimes I think the only reason I read Slashdot is to complain about it

  • There was an episode where a near-light speed object was headed toward earth and America and Russia panicked, until Russia saw that it was about to hit the moon instead. Even Russia thanked God for the moon's very existence when the end-of-the-world thingie actually did hit the moon and not Earth.

    (Of course, an alien intelligence intentionally fired it at the moon, but still)

    It's not a matter of if some highly annoying rocks have been intercepted by the moon... it's more a matter of how many.

    I for one am sh

  • Toxic moondust, eh? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by wampus ( 1932 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @08:07AM (#14331795)
    1. Who did NASA feed the moondust to to determine it is toxic?
    2. If you are inside on the moon, one would presume the dust isn't
    3. If you are outside on the moon and this happens, you just had 70kg of TNT dropped on you. Getting exploded is your primary concern, followed by death, with moondust toxicity being an also ran
    • It's very well known that microscopic particles of dust can be very damaging to the lungs.
      See Pneumoconiosis [wikipedia.org] and Silicosis [wikipedia.org].
      • Bullets and meteorites can also damage the lungs, if applied appropriately. That doesn't make them toxic. Toxicity implies some chemical interaction that impairs bodily function. Carbon monoxide impairs oxygen uptake, for example. Fine dust particles irritate the lungs by abrading them, causing the body to respond by... Well, I'm not a doctor; I don't know the details, but still....

    • Another NASA article [nasa.gov] says the dust stuck on the astronauts, and that they noticed weird symptoms inside the spaceship.

      The explosion was "equal in energy to about 70 kg", which does not mean it exploded like 70 kg of TNT would have. This explosion was much more concentrated. It is unknown how much and in which shape the dust is blown around, but it is probably quite a big area, which means you don't have to be hit by the meteoroid.

    • 1. Who did NASA feed the moondust to to determine it is toxic?

      NASA has analyzed moondust. They would be the ones to know its characteristics.

      2. If you are inside on the moon, one would presume the dust isn't

      That is an illogical presumption, as things on the outside can (and will) become things on the inside.

      Additionally, mooondust can be troublesome on the outside as well.

      3. If you are outside on the moon and this happens, you just had 70kg of TNT dropped on you. Getting exploded is your primary concern, fo
    • If you are inside on the moon, one would presume the dust isn't

      The main problem is that moondust is electrically charged and will stick to all sorts of things. This makes it easy to get in side, though this characteristic should make it simple to design filters...

      If you are outside on the moon and this happens, you just had 70kg of TNT dropped on you. Getting exploded is your primary concern, followed by death, with moondust toxicity being an also ran

      Ok. On the earth an explosion is largely a concussive so
  • ... it had something to do with the cheese [msstate.edu]?

  • Foxnews suspects terrorist (Score:3, Funny)

    by Timo_UK ( 762705 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @08:08AM (#14331800) Homepage
    Congress extends PAT RIOT act to include the moon.

  • Apparently We Are Living In The Mirror Universe (Score:4, Funny)

    by nurhussein ( 864532 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @08:08AM (#14331801) Homepage
    In the "real" universe, it is Praxis [memory-alpha.org] that explodes, and we receive the Klingons for a peace treaty.

    I guess now this means we'll have to take the iniative and go meet Chancellor Gorkon.

  • THAT'S NO MOON! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Oh wait... nvm.

  • That's a first... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Jugalator ( 259273 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @08:40AM (#14331846) Journal
    That's the first time I've heard a meteor impact referred to as "explosion on moon spreads moondust".

    I'm no astronomer so I'm not sure it's written that way and posted here on Slashdot because it's really something notable just having happened, or it's just a one among thousands of meteor impact caught with a camera?
    • While I agree that the title of the article was an exaggeration, there are a few notable points about this event:

      1. The telescope recorded the impact on the very first night of observations. This suggests that meteors may hit the moon more often than we think, especially in between meteor showers, when no one is looking.

      2. People are actually starting to worry about this. The fact that there is a dedicated telescope set up to watch the moon for meteor impacts suggests someone out there takes this problem se
      • > People are actually starting to worry about this. The fact that
        > there is a dedicated telescope set up to watch the moon for meteor
        > impacts suggests someone out there takes this problem seriously

        "Worry" is not the only reason for watching rocks hit the moon. For example, the ages of structures such as large craters and lava flows are estimated by using crater counts. Observing the frequency of impacts could help calibrate this.

    • Re:That's a first... (Score:3, Informative)

      by Deadstick ( 535032 )
      An explosion doesn't have to be a chemical or nuclear reaction. When a small object collides with a large one at very high speed, a load of kinetic energy gets converted to heat in a small fraction of a second, melting and vaporizing a quantity of material. The high temperature generates very high pressure, and the hot matter proceeds to escape forcibly in every available direction. That's an explosion, and that's why meteor craters are bigger than the meteors that made them.

      The only difference between this

  • Locale (Score:3, Funny)

    by dumpsterdiver ( 542329 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @08:43AM (#14331849)
    > Explosion on Moon Spreads Moondust But there, they just call it "dust" :p

  • This is why you should keep your helmet on (Score:4, Interesting)

    by harlows_monkeys ( 106428 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @08:48AM (#14331860) Homepage
    For the foreseeable future, any life on the moon will be in a spacesuit that is completely sealed, or inside a building or ship that is completely sealed. So, would toxic moondust be a problem?

    I suppose one might have to be careful when opening an airlock, lest moondust enter the airlock and then spread to the inside of the ship, but without an atmosphere, any dust blown up will settle quickly, so a simple rule of not opening an airlock right after anything nearby explodes should be sufficient.

    Or is the risk that it will get on the outside of suits, and be hard to clean off, and so will be carried in?

    • According to the astronauts who went there, it stuck to their spacesuits and turned the lander's cabin into a dusty grimey mess. So, the risk is tracking moondust into the house. That means that the airlocks will have to provide means of decontamination for returning moon walkers.

      Essentially, the electrostatic dust will stick to their suits easily as they disturb it by walking. Once pressurized in the airlock, it will tend to lose it's charge and float freely in the air. Airborne moondust should be about

    • Or is the risk that it will get on the outside of suits, and be hard to clean off, and so will be carried in?

      That, and those rude people from neighboring moon bases who NEVER wipe their feet before they come in.
  • It'd be pretty cool if the scattered moondust headed this way and burnt up in the atmosphere. We'd get a nice little moondust light show.
  • Well of course. How do you think lunarians dig all these craters? With a shovel?
  • Where my kite went.
  • Yes, sorry about that.. slight miscalculation.

  • Uh oh.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 24, 2005 @09:23AM (#14331924)
    Looks like santa missed earth ;_;
  • ...the Apollo missions were faked, otherwise this could have hit some very expensive equipment up there and damaged it beyond repair!

  • Dammit Man...... (Score:3, Funny)

    by mormop ( 415983 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @09:31AM (#14331933)
    So that's where Saddam hid the WMD!!!!!

  • It seems Slashdot is doomed to have a silly relationship to moondust for all time. "Exploding moondust bounces like a toxic canonball."

  • News Flash... (Score:1, Redundant)

    by flynns ( 639641 )
    NEWS FLASH!!! Big rock hits another rock full of dust! DUST CLOUD RESULTS!!!! /panic
  • The "realistic plan for world peace" has begun.

    http://www.imao.us/docs/NukeTheMoon.htm [www.imao.us]

  • I don't believe anything Nasa says since they those faked Moon Walks.
  • ...meteor impact observed on the moon, actually. Five English monks saw a much larger one in 1178 as they were finishing up a day's work on their monastery's farm. There's a crater named for Giordano Bruno that may be the result of that.

    rj
  • When they said they were planning a sequel to Shoemaker-Levy 9, I was expecting a bit more. Damn budget cuts!
  • Explosion on earth spreads earthdust
    Explosion on mars spreads marsdust

    I must be new here to still expect title's which actually tell what the article is about ? Something simple like : Explosion on the moon spotted ? stll seems hard.

    Then the summary is 2 lines : The first being informative. The second completely out of context. I wished editors just added a list of moon related articles in this case iso trying to make up nonsens. The only danger here is that the moon doesn't have an atmospher to protect
  • Geeze after all of that nuclear waste exploding and the near destruction of moon base Alpha the government is still screwing around on the moon.
  • Explosion on Moon Spreads Cotton Candy!

    Not THAT's a news story.

  • So every time the Mooninites launch an attack on the Golgotron, it makes Slashdot? Nothing to see here, move along...
  • Was there actually some sort of combustion in this impact? I thought the moon's atmosphere was inadequately oxygenated to support an "explosion".
  • Using google [google.com]

  • Same old, same old... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by HiyaPower ( 131263 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @01:41PM (#14332676)
    the chronicle of gervaise

    18 June 1178 (Julian calendar)

    In this year, on the Sunday before the feast of St. John the Baptist, after sunset when the moon has first become visible, a marvellous phenomenon was witnessed by some five or more men who were sitting there facing the moon. Now there was a bright new moon, and as usual in that phase, its horns were tilted towards the east and suddenly the upper horn split in two. From the midpoint of this 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... Then after these transformations the moon from horn to horn, that is along its whole length, took on a blackish appearance.

    One (controversial) interpretation of this narrative, first suggested by Dr Jack B Hartung some 800 years later, is that it is a description of a crater impact in progress. The "upper horn split in two" is the apparent effect of a plume of dark dust or vapour, the "flaming torch [of] hot coals and sparks" describes the molten ejecta, and the way in which the rest of the Moon "writhed", "throbbed" and eventually "took on a blackish appearance" could be the effects of a temporary lunar atmosphere of gas and vapour created by the impact.

  • Get Rumsfeld on this, stat!

  • DO NOT PANIC !!!!!! (Score:3, Funny)

    by freaker_TuC ( 7632 ) on Saturday December 24, 2005 @06:04PM (#14333563) Homepage Journal
    Use duct tape to close all holes and the magical moondust will not get you ... tonight

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