Overview
- A routine LRO image comparison led image specialist Robert Wagner to spot an unusually bright halo on October 24, 2025 and follow-up narrow‑angle imaging revealed a previously unseen impact crater.
- Researchers published two Science Advances papers on September 16, 2026 confirming the feature was named McGetchin and measures about 222 meters across and 43 meters deep.
- Analyses date the impact to April–May 2024 and estimate the object was roughly the size of a three‑ to six‑storey building that struck the Moon’s eastern edge.
- Thermal data from LRO’s Diviner instrument show a roughly 4–7 kilometre cold spot around the crater, explained by loosened, low‑density regolith that cools faster at night.
- Ejecta from the impact altered terrain many tens of miles away and the finding gives scientists a near‑real‑time test case for impact and ejecta models with direct implications for rover mobility, lander safety and cislunar monitoring practices.