The Moon is our only natural satellite and also the fifth largest moon in the Solar System. That last one is quite an impressive statistic, considering that there are more than 200 moons out there in the Solar System. Saturn is the champion, having 82 discovered natural satellites revolving around it.
It’s impossible not to take a good look at the Moon, even with the naked eye, and not notice its beautiful ‘scars.’ Those are craters left behind from the bombardment of comets and asteroids that occurred for millions of years. There are thousands of craters that our Moon has, and it just got two more.
Rocket body smashing into the Moon creates a new double crater
According to CNN, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter of NASA shared new images of the new double crater that exists on the surface of the Moon left behind by a rocket body impacting the natural satellite on March 4. The two craters form a depression that reaches 28 meters wide.
The moon has a new double crater after a rocket body collided with its surface — and images shared by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed the location of the unusual crater. https://t.co/SkGVSANQB7
— CNN (@CNN) June 27, 2022
It seems impossible to tell, at this point, the exact origin of the rocket body that collided with the Moon to form the new craters.
We could hope that the upcoming Artemis mission of NASA will have a chance to uncover the secrets behind the new craters of our natural satellite. The mission is scheduled to start in 2025, with the hope of returning astronauts to the Moon once again after 50 years. Last time it happened was during the Apollo 17 mission that took place in 1972.
Otherwise, we can just keep admiring the Moon with the naked eye. This month, for instance, we had the chance to see the so-called ‘Strawberry Supermoon‘ as it dominated the night sky with its reddish appearance.
Astronomy always seems to be willing to impress us, and we certainly cannot complain about getting bored.
