What are Transient Lunar Phenomena (TLP)?
Transient lunar phenomena (TLP), also known as transient lunar phenomenon, refers to 1) sudden flashes of light, 2) darkenings, 3) green, blue, or violet colorations, 4) reddish, pink, or orange colorations, and 5) floating mists observed on the surface of the Moon. Reports of transient lunar phenomena go back over 1,000 years, but have only begun to be taken seriously by astronomers since the early 1960s, when astronomers themselves began to view the phenomena and record it. At least 300 such events have been recorded by modern astronomers, with at least 2,200 reports in the historic literature. Over a third of all reliable incidents emanated from the Aristarchus plateau region on the Moon, on the northwest part of the near side. References to transient lunar phenomena are scattered throughout the astronomy literature of the last 1,000 years. For instance, on 18 June 1178, five monks from Canterbury reported “a flaming torch” in the northern region of the Moon shortly after sunset, “s
