Incredible before and after images have revealed a fresh lunar scar created by the biggest explosion ever recorded on the moon 's surface . The moon is pelted with cosmic debris all the time , but this relatively recent crater was created by an object the size of a small boulder . Scientists watched the object explode as it hit the surface in Mare Imbrium creating a flash of light 10 times as bright as anything ever recorded on the moon before . Scroll down for video . Incredible before ( left ) and after ( right ) images reveal a fresh lunar scar created by the biggest ever explosion recorded on the moon surface . Slide the middle bar to see how the moon 's surface changed after impact . When a meteoroid strikes the moon , a large portion of the impact energy goes into heat and excavating a crater . However , part of it also goes into generating visible light , which results in a brilliant flash at the point of impact . The images reveal intricate details of the resulting impact crater and could help scientists learn more about how craters form . The brightest flash occurred on March 17 , 2013 with coordinates 20.6°N , 336.1°E . The team predicted the crater 's size based on the energy , and then eagerly awaited Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera ; s next pass over the location to confirm their calculations . Being able to get observations before , during and after the impact is a valuable opportunity to understand impact events better . Four different mages of a crater formed on the moon , March 17 , 2013 ; each scene is 1837ft ( 560 metres ) wide . The brightest flash occurred on March 17 , 2013 with coordinates 20.6°N , 336.1°E . Comparing the actual size of the crater to the brightness of the flash helps validate impact models . The crater itself is small , measuring 61.7ft ( 18.8 metres ) in diameter , but its influence is large ; debris excavated by the sudden release of energy flew for hundreds of metres . More than 200 related surface changes up to 19 miles ( 30km ) away were noted . Scientists could be closer to finding water on the moon - a discovery that could help create rocket fuel and breathable air for future colonies . Using data from the Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter 's Lend tool , Nasa scientists have been mapping the hydrogen levels across the moon craggy deposits . And they 've found surprisingly higher levels of hydrogen in a very specific area ; the slopes of craters in the moon 's southern hemisphere facing the South Pole . These slopes could be mankind 's best hope finding drinkable water on the lunar surface , they claim . Hydrogen could be found as either hydroxol - which is a single atom bound with a single oxygen atom - or it may be two hydrogen atoms bound with oxygen . Scientists believe lunar water could be used for drinking or its components – hydrogen and oxygen – may be used to manufacture rocket fuel or even breathable air . Not only did the LROC images reveal intricate details of ejecta distribution , but they also offered a valuable opportunity to study the structure of the top meter of the regolith . Regolith is a term that refers to a soil that is lacking organic material . The soil on the moon is formed slowly over time as micrometeorites impact the surface and slowly grind rocks into a fine powder . As the fresh soil grains sit on the surface , they are exposed to radiation and slowly become darker and redder . This is largely caused by a reduction of iron in minerals to iron metal – reverse of rusting that happens on Earth . This slow change in reflectance and colour is generally referred to as space weathering ; fresh soil is referred to as immature , and weathered soil is mature . Several surprises were revealed in the before and after image pairs around the new crater . Conventional thought predicted that the new crater should be surrounded by a high reflectance ejecta with some patchy debris spreading out two or three diameters . 'The high reflectance was there , but three other zones were discovered , ' said Mark Robinson , a professor in ASU 's School of Earth and Space Exploration and LROC 's principal investigator . 'At the edge of the high reflectance ejecta was a low reflectance zone , then , beyond that , another high reflectance zone , and beyond that , another low reflectance zone . ' It 's not easy to find new impact craters because most of them are very small . The only way to really do this is to have a before image and an after image to compare . With the help of the automated tool , the team has identified 225 new impact craters ranging in size from 4.9ft to 140ft ( 91.5 meters to 43 metres ) and over 25,000 small changes known as 'splotches ' . Using data from the Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter 's Lend tool ( artist 's impression pictured ) , Nasa scientists discovered the crater itself is small , measuring 61.7ft ( 18.8 metres ) in diameter , but its influence is large ; debris excavated by the sudden release of energy flew for hundreds of metres .
Nasa watched a boulder-sized object explode on March 17 , 2013 . Its flash was 10 times as bright as anything ever recorded on moon . Resulting crater in Mare Imbrium is 61.7ft ( 18.8 metres ) in diameter .