Research Paper on Meteoroids and Moon

Introduction

A meteor, which is also known as the falling star or the shooting star refers to the bright light streak that appears in the sky. A small meteoroid produces this light as it enters into the atmosphere of the earth. On a dark clear sky, it is possible to see a few of them per hour averagely. However, during instances of meteor showers many approximately 100 per hour can be seen. Meteors containing very bright light are referred to as fireballs.

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The history of meteors dates back a long time ago. Meteor showers have impressed many writers. For instance, in 1797, Samuel Taylor Coleridge witnessed the Leonid meteor shower, which inspired him to write his most famous lines, which are found in the Rime of the Ancient (Nine Planets, 2018). Notably, meteorites are pieces of the solar system, which fall to the earth. Many of these bits emanate from asteroids (Larbi et al., 2015). A few of them are believed to have emanated from the 4 Vesta while a few others emanate from the Comets. On the other hand, several meteorites have been understood to have Martian or Lunar origins. Consequently, the ALH84001, which is a Martian meteorite is believed to evidence Mars life.

Although meteorites appear as just rocks, they have extreme importance, which is studied in the lab through careful examinations to help determine many things such as their properties and origin. The only other evidence that exists of the universe existing beyond the planet Earth besides the Moon rocks that Apollo and the Luna missions brought back to earth are the meteorites.

A fall refers to the witnessing of the meteorite entering into the atmosphere of the earth by someone (Nine Planets, 2018). A find, however, refers to the lack of witnessing of a meteorite and was found after it had fallen. Approximately 33 percent of meteorites are categorised falls. Each day, a huge number of meteoroids fall into the atmosphere of the earth; thus, increasing the materials evidencing the existence of a universe beyond the earth.

Focus on Thesis Statement

For many years, it has been observed that the lunar eclipse seemed to come with little extra flashes of light. At this time, the meteorite had begun making journey's to the moon, which ended after a light burst in its totality. The strike of meteors occurs in the region that the shadow of the earth darkens during the eclipse. Consequently, because of the regular impacts that the moon suffers, the collision enables the moon to obtain about 140 new craters averagely each year (Cudnik et al., 2003).

Scientists sometimes have luck in having their instruments at the exact right place and time and therefore, through this, catch the light flashes, which are accompanied by high-speed impacts (Cudnik et al., 2003). It is vital to note that the impacts suffered from the meteorites are not just flashy; they also bear scientific knowledge, which scientists learn from them. NASA dedicated a team that not only monitors these flashes on the moon but also focuses on the scientific knowledge that can be learned from them to teach about the reasons behind debris clutters on the solar system.

There is great importance to look into history. The reason behind this is that the surface of the moon offers a very detailed historical record of the impacts it has suffered. Therefore, since there are not nearly as many earthly forces that can wipe the craters away, no plate tectonics or rain, there is great knowledge to be found about the impacts the earth itself has suffered (Cudnik et al., 2003). Moreover, the moon, unlike the earth, does not have a thick atmosphere protecting it. Thus, the evidence it presents acts as a stand-in for scientists. Therefore, the impact of the eclipse provides scientists with the chance to pore over them.

Definition of Meteoroid Collision and Flashes

Much confusion exists as to what these terms mean because of the mix up that often occurs in conversations and popular press. The meteoroid refers to any small piece of ice, metal or rock that moves through space. The closer one pears at, the more the debris pieces there are. However, the radiation that emanates from the sun quickly blows to interstellar space the smallest of them (Larbi et al., 2015). On the other hand, the meteor refers to the visible light flash, which is observed as the meteoroid enters into the atmosphere of the earth.

The meteorite refers to the object, which is able not only to enter into the atmosphere of the earth but also to reach the earth's ground. The sizes of meteorites differ from small ones to large ones. The most frequent ones are the lightest and the smallest ones. The largest meteorite to date is the one from Namibia known as the Hoba, which weighed about 66 tonnes. Finally, the fireball refers to the meteor, which contains unusual brightness. These outshine almost everything in the sky at night. They are brighter than Venus.

Why is the Moon important:

The moon is important in many ways. One of these ways includes the way the moon acts as stabilisation to the earth's rotation. Whenever the earth rotates, it tends to wobble slightly on its axis back and forth. Its rotation can be likened to that of a top, which simply lacks the vertical spin on the floor or table. However, the moon brings stability; thus without its existence; the earth would wobble more.

Another importance that the moon bears is that it helps in ensuring that the earth's tilt on its axis does not vary. If there are variations to the tilt, then there are significantly strong climatic impacts that would be catastrophic for instance, very high temperatures.

Moreover, the moon acts as a break on the rotation of the earth. The reason behind this is that tidal friction reduces the rotation of the earth. The seas pulling towards the moon influences the depths of the seawater along not only the coasts but also the rotation of the earth. Therefore, if the moon did not exist, the day's length would include or reduce.

Theories, Old and New

Beliefs From Years Ago About Causes of Flashes on the Moon

Many researchers believe there is no witnessing any expanses of the ice occurring in any similar manner to a skating rink or a frozen pond. Rather, they believe they see evidence of surface frost (Feldman et al., 1998). Consequently, the frost that is suspected to exist was found on the south pole of the moon in cold traps existing close therein (Paige et al., 2010). Cold traps refer to the fields that have been marked permanently dark either along a crater part or on the floor of deep crater walls, which do not receive any direct sunlight rays.

Over 50 years ago, researchers suggested that these cold traps or lunar cold traps could store water ice (Paige et al., 2010). However, they faced many difficulties proving or confirming this. Nevertheless, in the late 1990s, observations that the orbiter, which is NASA's Lunar Prospector discovered areas near the poles of the moon to contain high levels of hydrogen (Feldman et al., 1998). However, they were unable to determine whether the hydrogen existed in another form or there was water within.

New Understandings Learned Over the Last Couple of Years

Scientists found that near the south pole, where the coldest places were contained very bright lights, thus, this was an indication of the presence either of very high reflective materials or ice. The researchers additionally looked at the place where the frost was observed and deciphered the temperature since water ice needs a certain crucial threshold to exist in that state (Starukhina & Shkuratov, 2000).

Also, the findings also showed great consistencies with another analysis that a research team had conducted in 2015. The study compared the craters' peak temperatures using ultraviolet data from LAMP. Consequently, both the LAMP and LOLA instruments have abilities to measure the brightness of surfaces without sunlight. For instance, LAMP measures this through measuring the hydrogen's UV sky glow while LOLA does this through measuring the laser light reflection. Therefore, these studies have provided strong cases showing the cold traps existing near the south pole of the moon contain frost (Paige et al., 2010). However, researchers have not seen similar signs on the north pole of the moon.

Technologies That Are Improving the Data Collected

Original Telescopes and What They Provided for Information

Galileo in the year 1609, who was not only an Italian astronomer but also a physicist was the first person to focus a telescope towards the sky. Despite the size of the telescope being wanting and the images produced being fuzzy, Galileo ably made out the moon's craters and mountains. Besides, he also made out the ribbon of light diffusing, which arched across the sky (Larbi et al., 2015). The light later became known as the Milky Way galaxy. After the efforts that Galileo made, Sir Isaac Newton's astronomical time saw great flourish. Bigger and more complex telescopes were made using advanced technology. Through this, astronomers ably discovered many things such as faint stars and the stellar distances calculations. During the 19th century, astronomers used the spectroscope, which was a new instrument that helped them garner information concerning not only the chemical composition of celestial objectives but also their motions.

New Telescopes That Can Provide New Information for Studies

Over the years, new and advanced telescoped have been made. For instance, the Hubble Space Telescope has operated in space for more than 28 years. It has helped produce some of the most scientifically beautiful images bearing great significances about the cosmos that humanity takes. However, the James Webb Space Telescope also has had its fair share of glory. The latter is much new compared to the former. Besides, it is also more powerful in design. Nonetheless, this does not mean that new telescopes are not in the making. On the contrary, they are in the making.

What Has Been Learned?

Over the years, many scientists and researchers have questioned the age of the ice found on the moon (Seeds & Backman, 2010). They have raised many questioned regarding this and more. Notably, there have been different speculations concerning this matter. For instance, if the source of the water was asteroids or icy comets, then the ice found on the south pole of the moon is old as the solar system (Starukhina & Shkuratov, 2000). Therefore, this would imply the possibilities of delivering water to the moon and the earth.

Nevertheless, the other speculation that scientists and researchers have had concerning the water located on the moon is that it is produced through chemical reactions, which the solar wind drives (Starukhina & Shkuratov, 2000). Therefore, the implication of this is that the age of the ice water on the moon is much more recent than could be imagined. However, each of these theories could be true in their own merits. The reason behind this is that ancient ice could be found deep within the surface of the moon buried while the ice water seen on the surface of the moon could be much newer. Thus, it could be from chemical reactions driven by the solar wind.

Another implication of this is that there are enough pieces of evidence that warrant the need for more investigation to be carried out (Seeds & Backman, 2010). The reason behind this is that the investigations could yield incredible results. The results could help provide insight concerning the sources of the water found on Earth. Further, the results could also provide greater insight into discoveries concerning not only the moon but also the universe at large.

The new information affects the past theories in many ways. For instance, one of how the past theories are affected by the new in...