A canyon is a deep, narrow valley with steep sides. Here on Earth, canyons are typically formed by long-term erosion from rivers or tectonic activity. But on the moon, where there’s no atmosphere, there’s another way to create a canyon: through an impact.

Two Grand Canyon-size features on the far side of the moon were likely formed in about 10 minutes after an unknown object slammed into the moon 3.8 billion years ago.

The Earth's Grand Canyon took millions of years to carve, but the moon's grand canyons took about ten minutes.

Two of Moon's Grand Canyons Were Created in Just 10 Minutes Due to a Powerful Impact 3.8 Billion Years Ago, Claim Researchers Moon aficionados now have another detail in their kitty about the precious satellite.

The far side of the Moon has its own versions of the Grand Canyon—two of them, in fact! A new study explains how these deep canyons formed very quickly during an asteroid impact. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny spoke with local planetary scientist David Kring about the findings.

Scientists found that an asteroid impact carved two massive canyons on the moon in minutes. High-speed debris helped shape the trenches.

Scientists proposed an explanation for the formation of Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck near the lunar south pole, which are each about the size of Earth’s Grand Canyon.

Scientists say Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck—dramatic trenches near the lunar south pole—were carved in a blast that unleashed 130 times the amount of energy in Earth's global nuclear weapons i

Two canyons on the far side of the moon, each as large as Earth's Grand Canyon, formed within less than 10 minutes, most likely due to a massive impact there 3.8bn years ago. The object and its work are the subjects of scientific speculation in the journal Nature Communications.