Tycho Crater on the Moon

moon · craters · space geology

A cosmic impact zone. Tycho is a huge crater on the Moon with a diameter of about 85 kilometers (53 miles) across. It was created by an asteroid or comet that crashed into the Moon around 108 million years ago.

Shines super bright. Tycho is one of the brightest craters on the entire Moon, which makes it easy to spot from Earth even with a small telescope. Its brightness comes from fresh material exposed by the impact that hasn't been darkened by space weathering yet.

Incredibly deep. The crater plunges down about 4.7 kilometers (2.9 miles) below the surrounding landscape, making it as deep as some of Earth's tallest mountains are tall.

Named after a star gazer. The crater was named after Tycho Brahe, a brilliant Danish astronomer from the 1500s who made incredibly detailed observations of the night sky before telescopes were invented.

Rays of light. Tycho has bright streaks of ejected material that radiate outward across the lunar surface like the spokes of a wheel, making it one of the most recognizable features on the Moon.