The Aporia · NASA scan discovers new, ‘once in a century’ moon crater

A researcher at NASA discovered a recently formed crater on the Moon named McGetchin, measuring 222 meters wide, believed to have been caused by an asteroid or comet collision in spring 2024. Scientists consider impacts of this scale to be once-in-a-century events. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) detected the crater as a bright spot with a dark halo and it is noted as the largest newly discovered crater in the solar system according to a study published on September 16th. This finding aids understanding of lunar geology and prepares future crewed missions to the Moon.

Written by the local model on 2026-09-17, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

Story summary

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) discovered a massive crater on the moon’s near side in May 2024, which is larger than the Roman Colosseum. The crater, measuring about 728 feet across and up to 141 feet deep, was caused by an asteroid or comet fragment hitting the surface. This impact likely occurred between April 11 and May 22, 2024, though it wasn't immediately detected by Earth-based telescopes or space instruments. Such a large-scale event is estimated to happen only once every 132 years, making this discovery particularly significant for understanding lunar impacts and preparing future missions. The crater's size makes it the largest known recent impact in the solar system.

Written for “Moon Crater Discovery” on 2026-09-17, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

📰 Moon Crater Discovery

Science · 3 article(s) covering the same event.

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

This article reads unscored and hedges 20% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

NASA spacecraft discovers huge new crater on the moon same event · 100%

New York Post · 0.86 cosine similarity

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 16% hedged 3 of 19 📰 publisher trust 59

“Both articles describe the discovery of the same newly-formed large crater on the Moon caused by an impact in spring 2024.”

NASA spacecraft discovers moon crater bigger than Roman Colosseum same event · 95%

CBS News

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 19% hedged 4 of 21 📰 publisher trust 77

“Both articles describe the discovery of the same large crater on the moon, created by a recent celestial impact, with similar measurements and timing.”

The Straits Times · 563 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)

2026-09-13

Russia hits Ukrainian-Polish border area, Kyiv says

The Straits Times

361 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 The project would bisect the Israeli-occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, fragmenting the land Palestinians hope will form the heart of a state.

2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Israel adds tender for 2,167 housing units to settlement expansion plan, rights groups say

🔮 Trump derides EU pitch to Canada as 'laughable', threatens more tariffs BRUSSELS, Sept 17 - U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to take action against the European Union if it moves forward with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's proposal to make Canada the bloc's first associate member. "If they do that, if I think it's at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe on many things," Trump told reporters en route to an event in North Carolina, calling the proposal "laughable".

2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Trump derides EU pitch to Canada as 'laughable', threatens more tariffs

🔮 A further AfD surge in state-level elections this weekend would tighten the squeeze on conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz as he weighs his options for costly measures to lower fuel prices.

2026-09-17 · mixed framing · Europe's low gas stocks pile on the economic and political pressure

🔮 "We knew there was always a chance that we would be punished after these four years of (government) cooperation, but I didn't think the drop would be this big

2026-09-17 · assertive framing · ANALYSIS-The night Sweden's far-right stopped winning

🔮 “Rather, the US directed the strikes at the building of the school while being aware of a substantial risk of striking a civilian object and acting recklessly as regards the possibility that this would happen.”

2026-09-17 · assertive framing · UN mission finds grounds to believe US committed war crimes in Iran, and Tehran crimes against humanity

🔮 Those parties, the National Rally of Independents (RNI) and the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), have both put youth employment at the centre of their campaigns, pledging to create about one million jobs over the next parliamentary term. They have also touted roughly $20 billion of infrastructure investment ahead of the 2030 World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal, and streamed rallies on social media to draw the attention of young voters. "We reject the idea that young people simply want an easy life," the PAM's campaign manifesto says, listing housing, regular income and "dignified work" as policy priorities.

2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Morocco's political parties battle youth disenchantment ahead of election

🔮 All 435 congressional seats and 34 of the Senate’s 100 seats will be up for grabs, and Democrats are favoured to regain control of the House while forecasts expect a close race for the Senate majority.

2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Trump, in North Carolina, says Democrats are soft on crime and communism

🔮 And because the nation serves as a regional hub for business, tourism and transport, the surge in cases could affect other countries in the South Pacific if left unchecked.

2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Fiji declares a national emergency as HIV cases skyrocket

🔮 Military leaders meet in Paris to mull post-UN mission plans PARIS, Sept 17 - European and Arab military chiefs will meet in Paris on Thursday to assess the Lebanese Armed Forces' needs and discuss the looming end of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, amid fears of a renewed Israeli military campaign in southern Lebanon. Israel and Lebanon have held several rounds of U.S.-brokered talks aimed at easing tensions along their border.

2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Military leaders meet in Paris to mull post-UN mission plans

🔮 Traders say a prolonged closure of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline could cut off as much as 4 per cent of global oil supply.

2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Trump hopes Iran war nearing end as Houthi-Saudi fighting escalates

Also by The Straits Times

Israel adds tender for 2,167 housing units to settlement expansion plan, rights groups say

2026-09-17 · The Straits Times

Trump derides EU pitch to Canada as 'laughable', threatens more tariffs

2026-09-17 · The Straits Times

Europe's low gas stocks pile on the economic and political pressure

2026-09-17 · The Straits Times

Explainer-How Yemen's Houthis went from a small mountain militia to a big regional threat

2026-09-17 · The Straits Times

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 361 articles by The Straits Times →

LRO Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter NASA Science Advances WASHINGTON

NASA ORG · 5× AFP ORG · 1× China GPE · 1× McGetchin PERSON · 1× Robert Wagner PERSON · 1× Science Advances ORG · 1× WASHINGTON GPE · 1× the United States GPE · 1×

Although the crater had been there for years, it was not discovered until Robert Wagner, a researcher with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), noticed it in a new scan of the Moon’s surface. The crater appeared as a “large bright spot circled by a dark halo” by the LRO probe, which has been studying the Moon since 2009.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17

🔮 This in turn could better prepare future crewed missions to the moon, which are currently planned by both the United States and China.

2026-09-17 · The Straits Times

NASA scan discovers new, ‘once in a century’ moon crater · assertive framing

NASA scan discovers new, ‘once in a century’ moon crater AI generated asserted

scan → discover → crater

A researcher at NASA has found a massive, recently-formed crater on the moon, a rare occurrence that only happens “once in a century or even longer,” according to scientists. uncertain

that → find → scientists

The crater, dubbed “McGetchin,” measures 222m wide, NASA said in a blog post. asserted

NASA → dub → post

It is believed to have been created in the spring of 2024 from a comet or asteroid colliding with the Moon, with researchers describing the object that caused it to be the size of a building three-to-six stories high. “ asserted

it → believe → building

Scientists estimate that an impact of this magnitude happens on the Moon about once in a century or even longer,” NASA said in the blog post. asserted

NASA → estimate → post

Although the crater had been there for years, it was not discovered until Robert Wagner, a researcher with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), noticed it in a new scan of the Moon’s surface. The crater appeared as a “large bright spot circled by a dark halo” by the LRO probe, which has been studying the Moon since 2009. asserted

which → discover → 2009

A study published on Sept 16 in the journal Science Advances determined it was the largest new crater ever discovered in the solar system. asserted

it → publish → system

While the moon has numerous craters, many of which are far bigger than McGetchin, researching a crater’s formation in real time can help build understanding of the Moon’s geology. asserted

researching → have → geology

This in turn could better prepare future crewed missions to the moon, which are currently planned by both the United States and China. uncertain

which → prepare → States

Unlike Earth, the moon has virtually no atmospheric layer, so space debris does not slow down or burn up before colliding with the surface. asserted

debris → have → surface

NASA scan discovers new, ‘once in a century’ moon crater

Summary

Signals How these are calculated →

AI analysis (generated at analysis time, not now)

Story

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Compared with similar articles

Publisher

Who wrote this

Topics

Subjects

Narrative

Claims (10 extracted, 2 hedged)