Mysterious flashes on the surface of the Moon: Transient Lunar Phenomena
June 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong takes his historic step during the first human mission to the lunar surface: “It's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” During the mission, Armstrong said he saw an area that was significantly brighter than the surrounding area and that area appeared to be slightly fluorescent. What did he want to say?
Today, almost forty years later, no one still knows exactly what the source of that mysterious light was. Scientists often notice these luminescent phenomena that can even be observed from the ground. There is an entire class of lunar phenomena that include color changes, luminescence, and gaseous emissions. These events, called TLP (Transient Lunar Phenomenon) leave scholars like NASA astronomers perplexed. These are controversial phenomena.
Yet Moon observers have been talking about these mysterious lights since the Middle Ages. They are usually spotted in darker areas and where the contrast is greater. They last from a few seconds to a few hours and this is also why they are difficult to prove.
Convinced that these events are real but not knowing their possible causes, experts have formulated some hypotheses.
Earth's atmosphere
What appear to be sudden flashes of light could be caused by particular visibility conditions, but not all TLPs can be explained by atmospheric phenomena. Armstrong observed anomalies during his exploration on the lunar surface and could not be affected by terrestrial interference.
Impacts with asteroids and meteorites
Many astronomers believe that most of the phenomena observed from Earth are caused by impacts of meteorites and asteroids.
These impact explosions could explain part of the lunar activity, but this theory has a fundamental problem: scientists continue to observe these lights, but no crater associated with them has been identified. Furthermore, no large events have been observed simultaneously by multiple reliable sources.
Landslides of the lunar soil
Another possible explanation could be found in the landslides that are created along the steep parts of the largest craters and which raise large quantities of dust. The dust could reflect sunlight in an anomalous way, giving the illusion that there are modifications on the surface of our satellite. If a landslide occurred on the Moon, we might notice something from Earth too, like a dust cloud. This has never happened.
Lunar volcanic activity
In contrasts with the hypothesis according to which the Earth's satellite has been geologically inactive since ancient times, one of the most intriguing explanations of transient phenomena is active volcanism. Perhaps the most controversial theory about these phenomena could completely change our view of the Moon.
Some photographs taken during the Apollo missions have revealed a strange rock formation that may be the result of recent volcanic activity. It would be a crucial discovery that could also provide an explanation for TLPs.
The academic world is still unconvinced: the luminescence said to be produced by volcanic events has never been observed simultaneously by two reliable and independent sources.
Deep gas emission
Even if the Moon is no longer geologically active, some astronomers believe that gaseous traces of volcanic phenomena may still exist. If the gases reached the surface and were hit by sunlight, they could generate flashes of red and blue light. The Moon certainly has minerals capable of producing them and bringing them to the surface.
There are many theories that try to explain Transient Lunar Phenomena. But which then is the most plausible?
For now, the causes of these fascinating and elusive lunar phenomena remain an inexplicable mystery.
