NASA finds 728-foot Moon crater from 2024 impact nobody saw happen
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter identified a 728-foot-wide crater on the Moon caused by an impact in 2024 that went undetected at the time. This discovery provides scientists with a rare opportunity to study a recent, large-scale lunar impact.
Why it matters
Studying fresh impact craters helps researchers better understand lunar geology and the frequency of asteroid collisions in the solar system.
The Moon has been taking hits for billions of years, but one of its newest scars managed to escape notice entirely. An asteroid or comet fragment slammed into the lunar surface in 2024, carving out a crater wider than two football fields without being spotted at the time. It was only months later, buried among millions of images, that scientists realized something extraordinary had happened. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has now helped researchers identify the crater, making it the largest known impact crater formed in the Solar System in recent times.A massive lunar scarAccording to a report by AP News, the crater, named after late lunar scientist Thomas McGetchin, measures about 728 feet (222 meters) across and reaches as much as 141 feet (43 meters) deep.
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