NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has identified McGetchin, a 222-metre-wide, 43-metre-deep impact crater on the Moon’s eastern edge. Scientists determined that a comet or asteroid roughly the size of a three- to six-story building struck the surface sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024, creating the largest newly formed impact crater yet identified in the Solar System [thehindu.com][sci.news][sciencedaily.com]. An impact of this size is estimated to occur once a century or less often [earthsky.org][deccanchronicle.com]. Robert Wagner, an image-processing specialist working with Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera data, noticed an unusually bright patch surrounded by a dark halo during a routine lunar-map check on October 24, 2025. High-resolution follow-up images confirmed the feature and allowed researchers to study the surrounding terrain. The crater was named for lunar scientist Tom McGetchin [sci.news][deseret.com][engadget.com]. Highlights: • Thermal disturbance: NASA’s Diviner instrument detected a nighttime cold zone about 6 kilometres wide around the crater, where temperatures are roughly 9 degrees Celsius lower than nearby ground [sci.news][earthsky.org]. • Surface reach: The collision loosened lunar soil beyond the crater itself, with reported disturbance extending more than 100 kilometres across the surrounding terrain [perthnow.com.au]. • Mission relevance: The spread of impact debris is relevant to hazard assessments for future crewed lunar activity [deccanchronicle.com][aktualne.cz]. "I just stopped, dropped everything, and started looking into what that spot was" — Robert Wagner Sources: • NASA scientist discovers largest, newly formed 'once-in-a-century' moon crater after asteroid impact - FOX Weather - google.com • NASA scan discovers new, ‘once in a century’ Moon crater - thehindu.com • New Impact Crater Spotted on the Moon - sci.news • NASA’s Moon orbiter finds a 728-foot crater that wasn’t there before - sciencedaily.com • New Impact Crater Spotted on the Moon - Sci.News - google.com • The Moon has a New Once-in-a-Century Crater - nautil.us • NASA orbiter discovers massive new crater on the moon - deseret.com • Newly formed moon crater is once-in-a-century discovery - earthsky.org • NASA Scan Reveals Rare 'Once-in-a-Century' Moon Crater - deccanchronicle.com • ‘Once-in-a-century event’: NASA scientists uncover MCG-sized crater on the moon’s surface - perthnow.com.au • NASA spots new crater on the moon the size of two football fields - mlive.com • McGetchin krater: NASA otkrila trag rijetkog udara na Mjesec - rtvslon.ba • NASA's moon orbiter has spotted an impact crater that only happens once a century - engadget.com • Mesiac zmenil vizáž: Kráter McGetchin je veľký ako dve futbalové ihriská - startitup.sk • A giant new moon crater is nothing next to its 4-mile bruise - mashable.com • « Un événement qui n’arrive qu’une fois par siècle » : un nouveau cratère, formé en 2024, découvert par hasard sur la Lune - leparisien.fr • Once-in-a-century crater discovered on Moon - beijingbulletin.com • Na Měsíci se něco děje. NASA zachytila stopu vesmírného vetřelce, který unikl všem teleskopům - aktualne.cz • Actualité : Un astéroïde grand comme un immeuble de trois à six étages s’est écrasé sur la Lune : voici l’incroyable cratère géant découvert par la NASA - lesnumeriques.com --- 📰 Story aggregated by Kagi News