The Mysterious Case of Crater Giordano Bruno

A band of 12th century sky watchers saw something big hit the Moon 800 years ago. Or did they? A new study suggests the event was a meteoritic trick of the eye.

April 26, 2001 -- Imagine the shock and amazement of five people who, in 1178 A.D., spied what appeared to be "fire, hot coals, and sparks" bursting forth from the Moon! Apparently something (and it was big) must have hit Earth's satellite.

What was it they saw? Until recently many astronomers thought that well-chronicled event coincided with the formation of lunar crater Giordano Bruno -- the youngest substantial impact feature on the Moon. But that popular idea doesn't hold up under scientific scrutiny, says Paul Withers of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.



Moon Pic link

NASA LINK

The man's life story makes a better read:

Giordano Bruno

Interseting. Wherever he went, he had many problems with almost everybody. A troublesmaker & an anarchist.