NASA spacecraft discovers moon crater bigger than Roman Colosseum

Updated on: September 16, 2026 / 5:45 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Scientists have discovered a crater on the moon that's bigger than the Roman Colosseum and is the result of a powerful impact two years ago that initially went undetected.

The steep-sided hole measured about 728 feet across, the length of two football fields, and up to 141 feet deep, equivalent to three vertically stacked yellow school buses, according to NASA. It's the solar system's biggest known impact crater carved out in recent times.

Such a large-scale event is estimated to occur only once every 132 years, researchers said, making this a treasure trove of information as NASA prepares to build a base for astronauts on the moon.

"This event constitutes a statistically rare, effectively once-in-a-lifetime observation," the scientists wrote in one of two studies appearing on the subject Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted the crater on the moon's near side sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024, soon after it was formed when an incoming fragment of an asteroid or comet the size of a three- to six-story building hit the surface. The moon strike escaped real-time detection by telescopes on Earth…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/healthwatch/