A researcher at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has found a massive, recently formed crater on the Moon, a rare occurrence that only happens “once in a century or even longer”, according to scientists.
it was not discovered until Robert Wagner, a researcher with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), noticed it in a new scan of the Moon’s surface Although the crater had been there for years. A study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances determined it was the largest new crater ever discovered in the solar system. many of which are far bigger than McGetchin, researching a crater’s formation in real time can help build understanding of the Moon’s geology While the Moon has numerous craters. This in turn could better prepare future crewed missions to the Moon, which are currently planned by both the United States and China.
It is believed to have been created in the spring of 2024 from a comet or asteroid colliding with the Moon, with researchers describing the object that caused it to be the size of a building three-to-six stories high.
The crater, dubbed “McGetchin”, measures 730 feet (222 metres) wide, NASA said in a blog post. “Scientists estimate that an impact of this magnitude happens on the Moon about once in a century or even longer,” NASA said in the blog post. The crater appeared as a “large bright spot circled by a dark halo” by the LRO probe, which has been studying the Moon since 2009.
Unlike Earth, the Moon has virtually no atmospheric layer, so space debris does not slow down or burn up before colliding with the surface. The crater, named McGetchin, is 728 feet (222 meters) wide and 141 feet (43 meters) deep and was revealed by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The impact that led to the formation of the crater may have occurred sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024, according to the researchers who published a paper about their discovery in Science Advances.
Earlier reporting noted: NASA spots ‘once-in-a-century’ crater on Moon’s surface after massive asteroid crash Scientists have found a big new crater on the Moon which is said to have been created by ‘once-in-a-century’ impact. Earlier reporting noted: Scientists say it is the largest newly formed crater yet discovered anywhere in the solar system, NASA said in a statement. Earlier reporting noted: The crater, roughly the size of two American football fields may have been created by a comet or an asteroid approximately the size of a three- to six-storey building that slammed into the moon, scientists have said.
