APOD: 2026 September 23 – A New Lunar Crater: McGetchin

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/apodTomorrow's picture: the great unknown Date: September 23, 2026 Credit: NASA/GSFC/Intuitive Machines Authors & editors: Keighley Rockcliffe, Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.