NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter caught the biggest new crater ever observed forming in the solar system: McGetchin, a 728-foot-wide (~222 m), 141-foot-deep scar on the Moon’s eastern edge that appeared between April 11 and May 22, 2024, NASA Science coverage (Lonnie Shekhtman) said Sept. 24, 2026, citing Science Advances papers dated Sept. 16.
Robert Wagner (Intuitive Machines / LROC) spotted it by comparing Wide-Angle Camera maps from Oct. 24, 2025. The impactor was roughly the size of a 3–6 story building. Events this large hit about once a century — or rarer (~once per 132 years, New Scientist noted). Debris was flung more than 120 km from the crater.
Diviner temperature data showed a ~4-mile region about 16°F colder at night where fluffed regolith blankets the surface. The crater is named for Tom McGetchin. Papers: Robinson et al. Sci Adv 10.1126/sciadv.aeh7812; Powell et al. 10.1126/sciadv.aeh9568.
Sources: NASA Science; SciTechDaily; New Scientist
Leave a Reply