The moon "exploded" when a meteoroid hit the surface. On Friday, a meteoroid slammed into the surface of the moon, resulting in an explosion that was visible on Earth. It was possible to see the explosion without the aid of a telescope.

NASA reported that the explosion, which only lasted about a second, exploded brighter than anything previously occurring. "It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we've ever seen before," said Bill Cooke, of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.

"It jumped right out at me, it was so bright," Ron Suggs of the Marshall Space Flight Center told pres.

Astronomers from NASA have been watching the moon for over eight years. They've been looking for asteroids that hit the lunar surface as part of a new initiative to identify new fields of space debris that have a risk of sriking Earth. NASA says it sees hundreds of detectable lunar meteoroid impacts a year.

On March 17^th, a massive explosion occurred. NASA told press that it weighed.40 kilograms and was under than a meter wide. It struck the moon's surface at 56,000 mph.

The meteorite glowed like a 4th magnitude star, NASA says, thanks to an explosion equivalent to 5 tons of TNT.

Cooke, of NASA, says Earth was pelted by meteoroids at roughly the same hour. They burned off in the atmosphere or hit the moon,  because it has no atmosphere to protect it.

"We'll be keeping an eye out for signs of a repeat performance next year when the Earth-moon system passes through the same region of space," Cooke told press.

If you're wondering how there can be an explosion on the moon, without oxygen, NASA has the answer for you. NASA says a flash of light from the moon can occur thanks to molten rock striking the surface of another planet and not an oxegen-fueled type of combustion.