Houston, Texas - During a routine moon check, NASA researchers discovered a previously unknown crater which scientists describe as a rare occurrence that only happens "once in a century or even longer."

The newly discovered crater on the Moon measures 730 feet wide, NASA said in a blog post on Wednesday. It is the largest fresh crater ever found in our solar system.

The colossal crater has been named McGetchin in honor of the late geologist and planetary researcher Tom McGetchin (1936‑1979).

The Moon's new massive hole is the result of a comet or asteroid the size of a "three‑ to six‑story building" striking the lunar surface sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024.

Tattoos Orlando Bloom's six-year-old daughter gets adorable temporary Pirates of the Caribbean tattoo

"Scientists estimate that an impact of this magnitude happens on the Moon about once in a century or even longer," NASA said in the blog post.

Although the crater had been there for years, it was not discovered until Robert Wagner, a researcher with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), noticed it in a new scan of the Moon's surface.

The crater appeared as a "large bright spot circled by a dark halo" in images from the LRO probe, which has been studying the Moon since 2009.

According to the study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, this newly discovered crater is the largest new crater ever discovered in the solar system.

US politics Congress passes sweeping Russia sanctions bill hailed by Ukraine's Zelensky

While the Moon has numerous craters, many of which are far bigger than McGetchin, researching a crater's formation in real time can help scientists better understand the Moon's geology.

This information, in turn, could better prepare future crewed missions to the Moon. Both China and the US are currently planning missions to the Moon.

Unlike Earth, the Moon has virtually no atmospheric layer, so space debris does not slow down or burn up before colliding with the surface.