A Humpback-Whale-Sized Impactor Left a Crater Two Soccer Fields Wide on the Moon
Something roughly the size of a humpback whale — about 10 to 20 metres across — crashed into the Moon, leaving a crater two soccer fields wide. The object was a comet or asteroid, and the resulting crater has been named McGetchin, after an Apollo-era lunar scientist. Craters of this size are expected only once every 132 years, according to NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day — which is what makes a fresh one worth catching.
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The reason there are before-and-after pictures at all is that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter monitors the Moon on a monthly cadence and captured the surface on both sides of the event.
The odd detail is thermal: follow-up imaging found a large cold spot surrounding the warm crater. Impacts puff up the loose regolith, making it less dense and less able to hold heat.