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It's possible that in 1178 an asteroid hit the Moon with a 120,000 megaton blast - an Extinction Event if it had hit the Earth. (By way of comparison, the Hiro

It's possible that in 1178 an asteroid hit the Moon with a 120,000 megaton blast - an Extinction Event if it had hit the Earth. (By way of comparison, the Hiroshima Bomb was 15 kilotons). Recorded by monks at Canterbury at the time, and only a possibility - but something to consider. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno_(crater) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno_(crater)

nkrisc 8y ago
According to the same page, more recent developments don't support the theory: > High-resolution images obtained by the Japanese satellite SELENE in 2008 were used to date the crater by counting the smaller craters within it and its ejecta deposits. This gave an age of 4(+6, −3) million years, much too old for the hypothesis.[2] > This raises the question of what the monks saw. An alternative theory holds that the monks just happened to be in the right place at the right time to see an exploding meteor coming at them and aligned with the Moon. This would explain why the monks were the only people known to have witnessed the event; such an alignment would only be observable from a specific spot on the Earth's surface.[8]
- hinkley 8y ago
  What the monks reported sounds like it might be consistent with the optical disturbances caused by superheated air: > From the midpoint of the division a flaming torch sprang up, spewing out, over a considerable distance, fire, hot coals and sparks. Meanwhile the body of the Moon which was below writhed, as it were in anxiety, and to put it in the words of those who reported it to me and saw it with their own eyes, the Moon throbbed like a wounded snake. Afterwards it resumed its proper state. This phenomenon was repeated a dozen times or more, the flame assuming various twisting shapes at random and then returning to normal. Then, after these transformations, the Moon from horn to horn, that is along its whole length, took on a blackish appearance. An air burst between observer and observed would move around on the wind, causing ripples to come and go.
  - nkrisc 8y ago
    > An air burst between observer and observed would move around on the wind, causing ripples to come and go. Agreed. Far more likely that an impact causing the moon to wobble or visibly move, which would have to be an obscenely destructive impact.
maxxxxx 8y ago
That's 120 Gigaton. That's enormous and would probably have debris flying around for quite a while. I am pretty sure some other people would have noticed that too.

nkrisc 8y ago

According to the same page, more recent developments don't support the theory: > High-resolution images obtained by the Japanese satellite SELENE in 2008 were used to date the crater by counting the smaller craters within it and its ejecta deposits. This gave an age of 4(+6, −3) million years, much too old for the hypothesis.[2] > This raises the question of what the monks saw. An alternative theory holds that the monks just happened to be in the right place at the right time to see an exploding meteor coming at them and aligned with the Moon. This would explain why the monks were the only people known to have witnessed the event; such an alignment would only be observable from a specific spot on the Earth's surface.[8]

hinkley 8y ago
What the monks reported sounds like it might be consistent with the optical disturbances caused by superheated air: > From the midpoint of the division a flaming torch sprang up, spewing out, over a considerable distance, fire, hot coals and sparks. Meanwhile the body of the Moon which was below writhed, as it were in anxiety, and to put it in the words of those who reported it to me and saw it with their own eyes, the Moon throbbed like a wounded snake. Afterwards it resumed its proper state. This phenomenon was repeated a dozen times or more, the flame assuming various twisting shapes at random and then returning to normal. Then, after these transformations, the Moon from horn to horn, that is along its whole length, took on a blackish appearance. An air burst between observer and observed would move around on the wind, causing ripples to come and go.
- nkrisc 8y ago
  > An air burst between observer and observed would move around on the wind, causing ripples to come and go. Agreed. Far more likely that an impact causing the moon to wobble or visibly move, which would have to be an obscenely destructive impact.

maxxxxx 8y ago

That's 120 Gigaton. That's enormous and would probably have debris flying around for quite a while. I am pretty sure some other people would have noticed that too.