SETI Live: A New Crater on the Moon

A new crater on the Moon is helping scientists understand what happens when an object strikes the lunar surface - and how far the impact's effects can reach.

The Moon's surface is covered in regolith, a layer of loose rock, dust, and debris shaped by billions of years of impacts. By studying a newly formed lunar crater, researchers can investigate how an impact changes not only the immediate surroundings but also more distant areas of the lunar landscape. The impact created a crater just 222 meters wide, but its effects were detected across an area approximately 7 kilometers wide, where nighttime surface temperatures dropped by 8 to 9 degrees Celsius relative to the surroundings.

Join SETI Institute planetary astronomer Dr. Franck Marchis and guest Dr. Tyler M. Powell (JHUAPL), lead author of a new study published in Science Advances, as they explore what this crater reveals about impact processes, lunar regolith, and the continuing evolution of the Moon's surface.

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