Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

LCROSS Centaur Impact Flash

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 10, 2009 is “LCROSS Centaur Impact Flash,” an image. It is credited to Credit: NASA, LCROSS Mission Team. The original explanation runs about 138 words.

LCROSS Centaur Impact Flash
Credit: NASA, LCROSS Mission Team Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“This mid-infrared image was taken in the last minutes of the LCROSS flight mission to the Moon. The small white spot (enlarged in the insets) seen within the dark shadow of lunar crater walls is the initial flash created by the impact of a spent Centaur upper stage rocket.”

— APOD editors, October 10, 2009

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
October 10, 2009
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: NASA, LCROSS Mission Team
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 138 words

All of October 2009 → · 2009 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The Moon

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

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Source

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.