National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently pronounced that the March 17 meteor impact with the Moon is the most powerful ever observed. The agency further stated that the meteor impact caused a gigantic explosion visible from planet Earth with an artist's depiction of the space phenomenon.

Photo credit: NASA

"A March 17 strike on the moon caused an explosion equal to five tons of TNT and could have seen with the naked eye. Anyone looking at the moon at the moment of impact could have seen the explosion, no telescope required. For about one second the impact site was glowing like a fourth-magnitude star," Dr. Bill Cooke, Head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, stated.

NASA's Lunar Impact Monitoring Program at the Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama has been observing the Moon and the recorded meteor strike is the brightest impact ever seen so far. The meteor that hit the Moon approximately weighed 40kg with 40cm diameter and an impact of 90,000km/h that left a crater with a size about 20m across.

Manager Robert Suggs of NASA's Lunar Impact Monitoring Program confirmed that in the eight years they have been observing the Moon, there were 300 meteor strikes that occurred. "We have seen a couple of others in the 'wow' category but not this bright," Suggs stated.

The meteor impact lasted for a single second but it brightly stood out comparable to a 4th magnitude star making it visible enough to be seen with the naked eye. "It exploded in a flash many times as bright as anything we've seen before," Dr. Cooke revealed.

Meanwhile, NASA is currently determining on which category the March 17 meteor impact will be included. "On March 17 next year, when the Earth-Moon system passes through the same region of space, the program's astronomers will be keeping a close watch," Dr. Cooke confirmed.