An asteroid impacting the planet 3.8 billion years ago carved two massive canyons on the Moon’s far side near its south pole. These valleys – named Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck – rival Arizona’s Grand Canyon in scale, stretching 270 kilometres (about 168 miles) with depths of 2.7 kilometres for Vallis Schrödinger and 3.5 kilometres for Vallis Planck. The discovery centres on the Schrödinger impact basin, where a 1500-mile-wide (2400 km) asteroid struck with energy equivalent to 130 times Earth’s current nuclear arsenal. Rather than directly carving the valleys, the impact created a “curtain” of lunar debris that rained back … Continue reading Asteroid Impact Carved Moon Canyons Deeper Than Grand Canyon