Astronomy Picture of the Day · December 8, 2001

Moon Struck

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 8, 2001 is “Moon Struck,” an image. It is credited to Credit: David Palmer ( LANL ). The original explanation runs about 172 words.

From the explanation

“Craters produced by ancient impacts on the airless Moon have long been a familiar sight . But only since 1999 have observers seen elusive optical flashes on the lunar surface – likely explosions resulting from impacting meteoroids.”

— APOD editors, December 8, 2001

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: December 8, 2001
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: David Palmer ( LANL )
Copyright: No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 172 words

All of December 2001 → · 2001 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The Moon Meteors

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 8 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, December 8, 2001 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2001-december-8-moon-struck

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.