images

Asteroid Impact on the Moon seen from primitive Earth

by

Ron Miller/Novapix

Reference

a-lun99-00023

Date

2017-01-15

An asteroid impact, perhaps the largest endured by the moon since the little splat, created the South Pole Aitkens Basin, one of the largest impact structures in the solar system. The date of the impact is uncertain: it might have occurred only a little over 3 billion years ago. If so, from the earth—where primitive algae would have been the only witness—the impact would have been an impressive sight.