New giant crater discovered on the Moon, formed just last year
NASA scientists have spotted a huge new crater on the Moon that formed in 2024 after an asteroid or comet fragment struck the surface. An unusual temperature anomaly was found around the site.
NASA researchers examining lunar surface imagery have discovered a recently formed crater measuring roughly 222 meters in diameter and 43 meters deep. What makes the find unusual is that the crater formed only in 2024, yet the impact itself went unnoticed at the time.
The discovery was made by scientist Robert Wagner while comparing newer and older images captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. The analysis showed the crater formed sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024.
A likely asteroid strike
Scientists believe the crater was most likely caused by a fragment of an asteroid or comet roughly the size of a three- to six-story building. The impact was powerful enough to affect the lunar surface across a distance of more than 100 kilometers. Researchers estimate that impacts of this scale occur on the Moon roughly once a century or less often.
The new crater has been named after lunar researcher Tom McGetchin. Around it, scientists also identified an unusual phenomenon: an area about 6.4 kilometers wide is roughly nine degrees Celsius cooler at night than the surrounding surface. This is explained by the impact having loosened the top layer of lunar soil, which now retains heat less effectively.
