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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