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Scientists using NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have identified McGetchin, the largest newly formed impact crater ever documented in the Solar System. The crater was detected by comparing images of the Moon taken before and after the impact. It was formed on the Moon’s eastern edge sometime between 11 April and 22 May 2024.
About McGetchin Crater
The crater was created when a comet or asteroid approximately the size of a three- to six-storey building struck the lunar surface. It is about 728 feet (222 metres) wide and 141 feet (43 metres) deep, making it roughly the length of two football fields across.
The crater was officially named McGetchin, after lunar scientist Tom McGetchin. Scientists estimate that an impact capable of producing a crater of this size occurs on the Moon approximately once in a century or even less frequently.
The discovery is significant because newly formed lunar craters provide scientists with an opportunity to study impact processes, the lunar surface and the rate at which celestial bodies collide with planetary and lunar surfaces.
Source: NASA
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