NASA scientist discovers largest, newly formed 'once-in-a-century' moon crater after asteroid impact - FOX Weather

THE TAKEAWAY A routine comparison of lunar images led a NASA scientist to a history-making discovery: a newly formed impact crater on the moon. During a routine data-quality check of a global map of the moon, NASA’s Robert Wagner spotted an unusually large bright patch surrounded by a dark halo — a sight that stopped him in his tracks. This wasn't a routine discovery. Scientists say it is the largest newly formed impact crater ever identified in the solar system. After spotting the bright patch, Wagner compared before and after images, confirming the groundbreaking discovery. McGetchin Crater, named in honor of lunar scientist Tom McGetchin, formed on the moon’s eastern edge sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024, after a comet or asteroid struck the lunar surface, NASA said. In a memorial, published by the U.S.