A comet or asteroid roughly the size of a
humpback whale
(approximately 10-20 meters, 30-60 feet) crashed into the Moon sometime
between April and May of 2024. The
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
(LRO), with its
monthly monitoring of the Moon,
captured
today’s images
of the lunar surface before and after the event. The resulting crater,
named after Apollo-era lunar scientist
McGetchin,
is two soccer fields across. Craters of this size are only expected once
every 132 years!
Follow up thermal imaging
revealed a
large cold spot
that surrounds the warm crater. Surface impacts will puff up the loose lunar sediment, or
regolith,
making it less dense and harder to retain heat. This event affected an area
much larger than the visible crater,
which will inform humanity’s understanding of surface impacts and the evolution of the Moon’s surface.
It also reminds us all to be
thankful for Earth's atmosphere.