APOD: 2026 September 23 – A New Lunar Crater: McGetchin
NASA Science ·
The post APOD: 2026 September 23 – A New Lunar Crater: McGetchin appeared first on NASA Science .
Science APOD APOD: 2026 September 23 – A… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Explanation: A once-in-a-lifetime crater has appeared on the Moon! 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 . APOD’s submission email has changed. Please see APOD Submissions. APOD’s main NASA site is moving : From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod Tomorrow’s picture: the great unknown
Yesterday's Image APOD: 2026 September 22 – Chance Triple Alignment: Plane, Space Station, Sun Tomorrow's Image The post APOD: 2026 September 23 – A New Lunar Crater: McGetchin appeared first on NASA Science .