A New Lunar Crater and a Rare Triple Solar Silhouette

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) detected a fresh impact crater formed between April and May 2024, when an object measuring 10 to 20 meters struck the surface. The crater, named McGetchin, spans the length of two soccer fields. According to NASA, an impact of this magnitude is expected roughly once every 132 years, and thermal measurements revealed that the impact disturbed the lunar regolith to create a cold region extending well beyond the visible crater.

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day featured an exceptionally rare triple alignment across the solar disk, captured from Prasek in the Czech Republic. The exposure was timed to the sub-second to capture the International Space Station transiting the Sun beside existing sunspots, but an airplane entered the frame at that exact moment. The photographer estimated the probability of capturing both the station and a plane simultaneously from that site at roughly one in 30 million.

NASA's Earth event monitoring network (EONET) continues to track severe tropical systems across the oceans. According to NASA satellite tracking and data from NOAA and the JTWC, Hurricane Polo was recorded with sustained winds of 145 knots. Concurrently, Typhoon Dujuan and Tropical Storm Odalys were tracked with winds of 60 knots each, alongside ongoing flood tracking in Thailand.