Discovery of “Freshest” Lunar Crater Is A Flash In The Pan

In science, retractions are every bit as important as assertions yet don’t get nearly the same amount of coverage by the press. Case in point: Back in mid-February the astronomy world was abuzz with stories, including this one on Sci-Fi Today, about the apparent discovery of a “fresh” lunar crater to go along with a mysterious visible flash on the moon photographed in the 1950s. In early March, the feature was spied in lunar photographs made with Mount Wilson’s 100-inch Hooker telescope in 1919. It also turned up on plates taken in 1937 with the 36-inch refractor at Lick Observatory. Oops. “It’s kind of disappointing,” Dr. Bonnie J. Buratti said. “But it’s more important to find that out.” She and her partner retracted their claim in early March. However, the first your intrepid Sci-Fi Today reporter rickyjames heard of their retraction was this afternoon in the local public library while reading the dead-tree paper article in Sky and Telescope magazine. Since it was reported here, I think it needs to be retracted here, too – no matter what the delay. The good news is, now there’s yet one more mystery out there on the moon waiting to be solved. Your mission, should you decide to accept it…