Flashes on the moon: CU Boulder experts explain asteroid strikes and why they matter

The moon is pummeled by asteroids nearly every day, creating new craters constantly that can range from a few feet to many miles across.

The asteroid impacts, when they’re large enough, create flashes of light that can be seen from Earth. These flashes on the moon sparked conversations this month when the New York Times reported that a Japanese astronomer captured two asteroid impacts to the moon around Halloween, causing visible flashes to be seen from Earth. Asteroids are the billions of rocky bodies that orbit the sun and range in size from a few feet long to 300 to 600 miles in diameter. Sometimes, Earth or the moon simply get in the way of an asteroid’s path.

“Impact flashes on the moon are very common,” University of Colorado Boulder astrophysical and planetary sciences professor P