I see your point and raise you the credibility of the source.
It is very difficult to tell just by observation when you don't have detailed images.
An ancient Greek astronomer (I've forgotten which) reported seeing a bright flash on the limb of the moon. Some historian/astronomers believe that this was an observation of the impact of the object that created the Copernicus crater (one of the youngest on the moon's surface).
It is not unresaonable to think an astronomer would use Occam's razor and postulate that these are images of a volcano. Perhaps it is more of a stretch to think they might have caught images of an actual impact. It would especialy be true if the astronomer had not heard of the ancient observation.
Shoemaker-Levy proved that we can see the effects of impacts on a planetary object.
It's not in the realm of the impossible that they captured an impact in progress.
Q.E.D.