South Korea space agency shares Moon images after SpaceX rocket debris crash

South Korea's space agency has released images that show the Moon after part of a SpaceX rocket crashed into its surface on Wednesday.

The Korean AeroSpace Administration (KASA) said lunar orbiter Danubri captured images after the impact, which it shared , external alongside photos of what the Moon's surface looked like before the crash.

Rocket debris struck the Moon at around 06:35 GMT on Wednesday, according to the South Korean space agency.

Re-usable Falcon 9 rockets were designed to allow part of the rocket to return to Earth (the upper stage) and other sections to be shed in space. SpaceX has used this type of rocket on several missions.

The empty upper stage of this Falcon 9 rocket, which scientists predicted would hit the Moon at a speed of about 5,400mph (8,700km/h), is about the size of a five-storey building and weighs approximately 4,000kg (630st) on Earth.

The short, dramatic flash created when the rocket part hit the Moon would have been hard to catch by amateur astronomers even with high-end telescopes, but larger observatories - including Seoul's space agency - are analysing the information.

While the impact did not pose any danger to Earth, Matt Bothwell, astronomer at the University of Cambridge, raised concerns about space debris.

"Space is getting more and more crowded," he said, as each year "we launch more stuff into space".