A Four-Ton SpaceX Rocket Stage Hit the Moon, but No One Saw It
The New York Times • • general
Key Points:
- A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage crashed into the moon at about 2:35 a.m. Eastern time, hitting the surface at 5,400 miles per hour.
- Despite hopes for a visible flash or dust cloud observable from Earth, no obvious signs of the impact were detected by telescopes at the scheduled time.
- Subtle observations from the Lowell Discovery Telescope in Arizona and the Very Large Telescope in Chile are under analysis to identify spectral evidence of the collision, such as specific wavelengths emitted or absorbed by debris.
- The most promising data come from Chile, where measurements detected sodium and lithium in a plume lasting several minutes after impact, with scientists confident these readings are linked to the crash.
- However, no direct visual confirmation or photographs of the collision have been obtained so far.
