By Cheyenne Macdonald For Dailymail.com
Published: 17:40 BST, 3 June 2019 | Updated: 17:40 BST, 3 June 2019
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A newly launched investigation could finally get to the bottom of a mystery that has baffled scientists since the 1950s.
For decades, scientists have observed brief flashes of light that appear on the surface of the moon several times a week. But, no one knows exactly what’s causing them.
Now, using a specially designed lunar telescope in Spain that boasts two cameras, a team will keep an eye on the moon’s activity every night in hopes to capture these strange phenomena and ultimately pinpoint the source.
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For decades, scientists have observed brief flashes of light that appear on the surface of the moon several times a week. But, no one knows exactly what’s causing them
Scientists have dubbed these strange events ‘transient lunar phenomena.’
The new effort is led by researchers from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg in Germany, who built the new telescope and put it into operation in April 2019.
The telescope sits at a private observatory roughly 100 kilometers north of Seville, where the weather is optimal for viewing.
There are several possible explanations that have circulated over the years, from meteor impacts to interactions between solar wind and moon dust, the researchers say.
‘Seismic activities were also observed on the moon,’ says Hakan Kayal, Professor of Space Technology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany.
‘When the surface moves, gases that reflect sunlight could escape from the interior of the moon.
‘This would explain the luminous phenomena, some of which last for hours.’
‘The so-called transient lunar
