HUBBLE ATLAS
Crater Copernicus on the Moon (Crater Copernicus , Moon) — image from the Hubble Space Telescope

Solar System

Crater Copernicus on the Moon

April 16, 1999 · ESA/Hubble · Crater Copernicus , Moon

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Hubble's crisp bird's-eye view clearly shows the ray pattern of bright dust ejected out of the crater over one billion years ago, when an asteroid larger than a mile across slammed into the Moon. Hubble can resolve features as small as 600 feet across in the terraced walls of the crater, and the hummock-like blanket of material blasted out by the meteor impact.