flashbulb moment

A flashbulb moment is an instant that burns into memory with unusual vividness and clarity—where you were, what you were doing, how you felt.

The term comes from the bright flash of old camera bulbs, suggesting how certain experiences seem to photograph themselves permanently in the mind: Everyone remembers their flashbulb moment when they heard about 9/11.

These typically form around shocking or emotionally significant events, though the memories themselves may be less accurate than they feel.