From flash to crater: morphological and spectral analysis of the brightest lunar impact on 2013 September 11 using LRO data

We present a comprehensive morphological and spectrophotometric analysis of the lunar impact that occurred on 2013 September 11, based on pre- and post-event observations by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The crater formed exhibits a rim-to-rim diameter of 35 ± 0.7 m, a depth of 4.9 ± 0.4 m...

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Autores: Rizos, Juan L., Lara, Luisa María, Ortiz, José Luis, Madiedo, José M.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:digitalcsic_::63939903c3dd68aa352f040fb25897b4
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/429201
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Meteorites, meteors, meteoroids
Moon
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spelling From flash to crater: morphological and spectral analysis of the brightest lunar impact on 2013 September 11 using LRO dataRizos, Juan L.Lara, Luisa MaríaOrtiz, José LuisMadiedo, José M.Meteorites, meteors, meteoroidsMoonWe present a comprehensive morphological and spectrophotometric analysis of the lunar impact that occurred on 2013 September 11, based on pre- and post-event observations by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The crater formed exhibits a rim-to-rim diameter of 35 ± 0.7 m, a depth of 4.9 ± 0.4 m, and an ejecta blanket extending over 2 km with an area of approximately 7 × 10⁵ m². The ejecta shows a pronounced asymmetry and, assuming uniform distribution, an average thickness limit of ∼2 mm. Spectral analysis using Wide-Angle Camera (WAC) images reveals a consistent reddening of the central ejecta region, with an average 16.54 percent increase in spectral slope between 321 and 643 nm, marking the first reported detection of colour changes resulting from a lunar impact. We evaluated several scaling laws and found that the Gault formulation most accurately reproduces the observed crater size. Furthermore, luminous efficiency values below η = 2 × 10⁻³ and higher projectile densities are most consistent with the morphology of the ejecta. The impact direction inferred from this pattern is not compatible with the radiant of the September ε-Perseids stream. Moreover, an independent probability analysis yields a greater than 96 percent likelihood that the event was caused by a sporadic meteoroid. Our results also demonstrate the potential of WAC imagery for the automated detection of new lunar craters, which can improve statistical estimates of the current impact flux. This methodology offers a powerful complement to high-resolution imaging, with important implications for both lunar safety and planetary defense. © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.The authors thank Dr Masahisa Yanagisawa for his insightful and constructive review, which helped improve the clarity and scientific rigor of this work. The authors gratefully acknowledge the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission and its team for pro- viding well-documented and readily accessible data products, which made this research possible. JLR, LML, JLO, and JMM acknowledge financial support from the Severo Ochoa grant CEX2021-001131- S funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. JLR and LML acknowledge financial support from grant PID2021-126365NB-C21.With funding from the Spanish government through the "Severo Ochoa Centre of Excelence" accreditation (CEX2021-001131-S)Peer reviewedOxford University PressAgencia Estatal de Investigación (España)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]202620262026info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Publisher's versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/429201reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Inglés#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE##PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/CEX2021-001131-Sinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/PID2021-126365NB-C21http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2068Síinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:digitalcsic_::63939903c3dd68aa352f040fb25897b42026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv From flash to crater: morphological and spectral analysis of the brightest lunar impact on 2013 September 11 using LRO data
title From flash to crater: morphological and spectral analysis of the brightest lunar impact on 2013 September 11 using LRO data
spellingShingle From flash to crater: morphological and spectral analysis of the brightest lunar impact on 2013 September 11 using LRO data
Rizos, Juan L.
Meteorites, meteors, meteoroids
Moon
title_short From flash to crater: morphological and spectral analysis of the brightest lunar impact on 2013 September 11 using LRO data
title_full From flash to crater: morphological and spectral analysis of the brightest lunar impact on 2013 September 11 using LRO data
title_fullStr From flash to crater: morphological and spectral analysis of the brightest lunar impact on 2013 September 11 using LRO data
title_full_unstemmed From flash to crater: morphological and spectral analysis of the brightest lunar impact on 2013 September 11 using LRO data
title_sort From flash to crater: morphological and spectral analysis of the brightest lunar impact on 2013 September 11 using LRO data
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Rizos, Juan L.
Lara, Luisa María
Ortiz, José Luis
Madiedo, José M.
author Rizos, Juan L.
author_facet Rizos, Juan L.
Lara, Luisa María
Ortiz, José Luis
Madiedo, José M.
author_role author
author2 Lara, Luisa María
Ortiz, José Luis
Madiedo, José M.
author2_role author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España)
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España)
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Meteorites, meteors, meteoroids
Moon
topic Meteorites, meteors, meteoroids
Moon
description We present a comprehensive morphological and spectrophotometric analysis of the lunar impact that occurred on 2013 September 11, based on pre- and post-event observations by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The crater formed exhibits a rim-to-rim diameter of 35 ± 0.7 m, a depth of 4.9 ± 0.4 m, and an ejecta blanket extending over 2 km with an area of approximately 7 × 10⁵ m². The ejecta shows a pronounced asymmetry and, assuming uniform distribution, an average thickness limit of ∼2 mm. Spectral analysis using Wide-Angle Camera (WAC) images reveals a consistent reddening of the central ejecta region, with an average 16.54 percent increase in spectral slope between 321 and 643 nm, marking the first reported detection of colour changes resulting from a lunar impact. We evaluated several scaling laws and found that the Gault formulation most accurately reproduces the observed crater size. Furthermore, luminous efficiency values below η = 2 × 10⁻³ and higher projectile densities are most consistent with the morphology of the ejecta. The impact direction inferred from this pattern is not compatible with the radiant of the September ε-Perseids stream. Moreover, an independent probability analysis yields a greater than 96 percent likelihood that the event was caused by a sporadic meteoroid. Our results also demonstrate the potential of WAC imagery for the automated detection of new lunar craters, which can improve statistical estimates of the current impact flux. This methodology offers a powerful complement to high-resolution imaging, with important implications for both lunar safety and planetary defense. © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Publisher's version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/429201
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/429201
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
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info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/CEX2021-001131-S
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/PID2021-126365NB-C21
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2068
Sí
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Oxford University Press
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Oxford University Press
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
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