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NASA spacecraft discovers a huge new crater on the moon
- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter team identified a newly formed 222-meter-wide lunar crater named McGetchin on the Moon's near side, which formed between April 11 and May 22, 2024.
- A comet or asteroid roughly the size of a three- to six-story building struck the lunar surface, releasing approximately 65 billion kilojoules of energy in an impact estimated to occur only once every 132 years.
- Follow-Up thermal data from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment revealed a 4-mile-wide cold spot around the crater measuring around 16 degrees Fahrenheit cooler at night, indicating the impact loosened surface material and reduced heat retention.
- NASA engineers are calculating the risk of ejected material striking the agency's planned moon base, using these impact measurements to design structures capable of withstanding high-velocity debris.
- The findings, published in Science Advances on Wednesday, offer a rare opportunity to study a recent, large-scale impact as NASA prepares for sustained human presence on the Moon and expanded commercial activities.
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New Impact Crater Spotted on the Moon
Using images from the LROC instrument onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), scientists have discovered the biggest newly formed impact crater ever discovered in the Solar System. The post New Impact Crater Spotted on the Moon appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
Great images from NASA showing one of the most impressive craters on the Moon in the last 100 years
NASA Photos Show Before and After of Massive Asteroid Impact on the Moon
NASA scientists have published before-and-after photos of a newly formed crater on the Moon that provides an unusually detailed view of what happens when a large object strikes the lunar surface.
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Total News Sources350
Leaning Left51Leaning Right45Center119Last UpdatedBias Distribution55% Center
Bias Distribution
- 55% of the sources are Center
55% Center
L 24%
C 55%
R 21%
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