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> Cretaceous lunar strike
Cretaceous lunar strike
author: Walter B. Myers/Novapix
reference: t-din03-10002
Image Size 300 DPI: 51 * 38 cm
What may appear here as a diamond ring effect from a solar eclipse is in fact a brilliant and momentary flash of light signaling a massive asteroid impact on the Moon. The Moon and all the inner planets of the Solar System show evidence of a long and violent history of encounters with meteorites and asteroids--leftover debris from the formation of the Solar System. This image depicts an asteroid colliding with the Moon about 95 million years ago. The perspective is from the surface of the Earth in what today is Egypt. The impact would have released millions of times more energy than today's largest nuclear weapon, creating a flash of light that would be far brighter than any star in the sky. In the foreground of this image stands a wary Spinosaurus, an enormous meat-eating dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period. Its typical length from tail tip to snout was 40-50 feet, and is believed to have weighed at least 8 tons or more.
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