                        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.

                              2026 September 23
   Two images. The before image shows a lunar surface sprinkled with small
    craters. The after image shows the same location but taken over by a
    large dark impression surrounding by a ridge that slopes down to the
                                  surface.

                        A New Lunar Crater: McGetchin
                 Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Intuitive Machines
         Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

   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 email for image submissions 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: open space
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

