Final answer:
The moon's craters caused by objects hitting its surface are known as impact craters. These geological formations yield from collisions with interplanetary debris and contribute to our understanding of the Moon's history.
Step-by-step explanation:
The features on the moon formed by objects crashing into its surface are called impact craters. When viewing the Moon, either with the unaided eye or through a telescope, these craters are among the most prominent features. They form when interplanetary debris, such as asteroids and comets, collides with the Moon's surface at high speeds, producing explosions, ejecting materials to create features with raised rims, ejecta blankets, and sometimes central peaks. The Moon's surface is also covered in a fine-grained soil created by these billions of years of impacts, which is the shattered remnants of lunar rock.
Interesting details include the dark volcanic plains known as maria, which were formed from lava flows primarily between 3.3 and 3.8 billion years ago. Observing the Moon at full phase, you may notice the lighter features or rays extending from the craters, which are the result of ejected material during impact events. These geological features provide invaluable information for scientists to determine the ages of various structures on the Moon's surface.