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NASA Primary source

NASA’s Moon Orbiter Spots New, ‘Once-in-Century’ Moon Crater

NASA’s Moon Orbiter Spots New, ‘Once-in-Century’ Moon Crater

Image: NASA

Machine-written summary, checked against the sources below

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) scientist Robert Wagner spotted an unusually large bright spot with a dark halo while reviewing a Moon map during a routine data-quality check, suggesting a newly formed crater. The feature's surface disturbance pattern indicates a rare, 'once-in-century' impact event.

It started as a routine data-quality check. But as Robert Wagner, a scientist with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), scanned a giant Moon map on his computer screen, an unusually large bright spot circled by a dark halo caught his eye, as it implied that surface material in that area had been shaken up. “I […]

Summary by NASA, the primary source

Read the release at NASA