Such high-velocity impacts create a brief, intense burst of light, known as an impact flash. For example, scientists have studied the impact of meteoroids on the moon by monitoring and analyzing impact flashes on its dark side. Ramesh, and colleagues have discovered that impact flashes are created by the fragmentation of an ultra-fast jet of material ejected from the colliding bodies. The resulting impact flashes were photographed using ultra-high-speed cameras and high-speed spectroscopy, which measures the color and brightness of the light. Other authors of the study include Justin Moreno, HEMI associate staff engineer, and Matthew Shaeffer, HEMI senior staff engineer.
