Water Released from Moon During Meteor Showers: Animations
Animations by
Brian Monroe
Released on April 15, 2019
Scientists have discovered that water is being released from the moon during meteor showers. When a speck of comet debris strikes the moon it vaporizes on impact, creating a shock wave in the lunar soil. For a sufficiently large impactor, this shock wave can breach the soil’s dry upper layer and release water molecules from a hydrated layer below. The LADEE spacecraft detects these water molecules as they enter the tenuous lunar atmosphere.