2019-04-01_Astronomy

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January’s total lunar eclipse

put on a show as Earth’s

shadow crossed the Full

Moon’s face. And during the

event, something unusual

happened. Astroimager

Jamie Cooper captured this

image of an impact on the

Moon from West Sussex,

England, at 03:41 UT. Such

events were theory only two

generations ago, but now

are fact and somewhat com-

monplace to the discerning

observer. This impact could

have been seen through

binoculars or a telescope

by an observer looking

at the right moment.

— Michael E. Bakich

SNAPSHOT

Impact on

the Moon

A meteoroid struck our

satellite during January’s

total lunar eclipse.

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LIMITED LIFE SPAN

A new study has

confirmed previous

Voyager findings:

Saturn’s gravity will

destroy its rings in less

than 100 million years.

WATER RICH

Water’s signature has

been found in minerals

on numerous asteroids,

bolstering the theory that

such bodies could have

delivered water to Earth.

UNTOUCHED RELIC

Astronomers have

identified a cloud of

pristine gas, unpolluted

by early star formation,

from just 1.5 billion years

after the Big Bang.