Asteroid impact on Moon carved two huge canyons in 10 minutes

New research indicates that these canyons, located in an area called the Schrodinger impact basin on the side of the Moon perpetually facing away from Earth, were dug out in a matter of less than 10 minutes by rocky debris sent violently aloft when an asteroid or comet struck the lunar surface roughly 3.8 billion years ago.

- Reuters

WASHINGTON: The Grand Canyon in Arizona is one of Earth's natural wonders, carved out over millions of years by the gradual erosion power of the Colorado River. Close to the Moon's south pole are two canyons each comparable in size to the Grand Canyon that were born in a much different process.

New research indicates that these canyons, located in an area called the Schrodinger impact basin on the side of the Moon perpetually facing away from Earth, were dug out in a matter of less than 10 minutes by rocky debris sent violently aloft when an asteroid or comet struck the lunar surface roughly 3.8 billion years ago.

This impact unleashed about 130 times the energy of the current global inventory of nuclear weapons, according to geologist David Kring of the Lunar and Planetary Institute of the Universities Space Research Association in Houston, lead author of the study published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.