The meteorite strike creates a crater up to 20m wide and triggers a bright flash that could be seen from Earth.
A meteorite has slammed into the surface of the Moon, creating a flash of light so bright it could be seen without a telescope.
Scientists say the space rock was travelling at around 56,000mph when it crashed into the Moon's Mare Imbrium region.
It is believed to have measured no more than 40cm across but experts say the force of the impact - equivalent to setting off four tons (4,500kg) of TNT - would have made a crater up to 20m wide.
The explosion is the biggest ever recorded by Nasa's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) and triggered a flash of light 10 times brighter than any previous lunar impact.
"It jumped right out of me," said Ron Suggs, an analyst at the Marshall Space Flight Centre, who was one of the first to detect the meteorite strike. "It was so bright."
Nasa hopes to photograph the crater when its Lunar Reconnaissance Observer next passes over the crash site.
The Moon is particularly susceptible to meteorite strikes because it has no atmosphere.
Unlike on Earth, meteorites do not burn up as they approach the surface.
More than 300 strikes have been recorded since Nasa set up MEO in 2005.
One of the aims of the project is to reduce the risk of meteorite strikes to astronauts and spacecraft.
A meteorite has slammed into the surface of the Moon, creating a flash of light so bright it could be seen without a telescope.
Scientists say the space rock was travelling at around 56,000mph when it crashed into the Moon's Mare Imbrium region.
It is believed to have measured no more than 40cm across but experts say the force of the impact - equivalent to setting off four tons (4,500kg) of TNT - would have made a crater up to 20m wide.
The explosion is the biggest ever recorded by Nasa's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) and triggered a flash of light 10 times brighter than any previous lunar impact.
"It jumped right out of me," said Ron Suggs, an analyst at the Marshall Space Flight Centre, who was one of the first to detect the meteorite strike. "It was so bright."
Nasa hopes to photograph the crater when its Lunar Reconnaissance Observer next passes over the crash site.
The Moon is particularly susceptible to meteorite strikes because it has no atmosphere.
Unlike on Earth, meteorites do not burn up as they approach the surface.
More than 300 strikes have been recorded since Nasa set up MEO in 2005.
One of the aims of the project is to reduce the risk of meteorite strikes to astronauts and spacecraft.
Source : Reuters, SkyNews
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