SETI discusses a new lunar crater on October 8
The institute’s announced livestream explores how impacts modify the Moon’s regolith.
RockGeo Editorial · Published on
Updated on
Event date: 10/08/2026 · Source date: not stated on the source page
Sources accessed on 10/08/2026, 13:45 GMT
The SETI Institute announced an 8 October conversation between planetary astronomer Franck Marchis and Tyler M. Powell, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The broadcast explores how a new crater helps scientists investigate changes to the lunar surface. Source: SETI Institute — event and research references.
The presentation is scheduled for 21:30 GMT on 8 October, equivalent to the organiser’s 14:30 PDT. The broadcast link is on the SETI event page. The conversation date is not the impact date. Source: SETI Institute — event and research references.
According to UCLA, the crater formed in the northern hemisphere spring of 2024. McGetchin crater is approximately 222 metres in diameter. Observations from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter identified the structure; subsequent measurements by its Diviner instrument recorded thermal effects more than 3 kilometres from the impact point. Source: UCLA — release of 25 September 2026.
The UCLA release describes an area that is colder during the lunar night, approximately 7 kilometres wide. The researchers interpret this as ejecta churning and loosening the regolith, the surface layer of fragments and dust. This is the study’s interpretation, rather than a direct measurement of the entire subsurface structure. Source: UCLA — release of 25 September 2026.
The geological interest lies in the difference between the crater’s size and the extent of the modified surface. Comparing images and thermal maps before and after the impact helps identify changes that a single image cannot show. SETI and UCLA link to the Science Advances papers for the original methods and conclusions. Source: UCLA — release of 25 September 2026.