Apocalypse on the Moon: rocks traveling faster than bullets created two massive craters (photo).

Researchers conducted a study of the Moon's surface and discovered how two deep and lengthy valleys were formed on the far side of the Moon. The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications, as reported by Space.

The study's authors utilized data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to gain a clearer understanding of how two depressions, known as the Schrödinger Valley and the Planck Valley, were created on the far side of the Moon. These depressions are located near the Schrödinger crater, which in turn is situated close to the largest crater on the Moon, called the South Pole-Aitken Basin.

The Schrödinger crater, which is 320 km wide, was formed by an asteroid impact approximately 3.8 billion years ago. The South Pole-Aitken Basin, measuring 2400 km in width, was also created by an asteroid impact around 4.2 to 4.3 billion years ago.

Scientists examined the Schrödinger crater for potential landing sites for future robotic and crewed missions to the Moon. To better understand how the Schrödinger Valley and Planck Valley were formed, researchers created lunar surface maps based on images from the orbiter to calculate the trajectory and velocity of the rocks ejected during the asteroid impact that resulted in the formation of the Schrödinger crater.

The Schrödinger Valley stretches 270 km in length and has a depth of approximately 2.7 km, while the Planck Valley measures 280 km in length and about 3.5 km in depth. The well-known Grand Canyon in the United States is 446 km long but has a depth of only 1.9 km.

Both valleys were formed as a result of rocks that scattered after the creation of the Schrödinger crater. Researchers calculated that these rocks traveled at speeds ranging from 3420 to 4600 km/h, while the average bullet speed is about 2500 km/h.

Scientists believe that the energy required to create the two valleys would exceed the energy from the explosion of all nuclear weapons on Earth by more than 130 times. Additionally, calculations indicated that the formation of the two valleys took roughly 10 minutes, considering the impact force and the speed of the rocks. In contrast, the Grand Canyon, which was carved by flowing water, took about 1 million years to form.

According to the study's authors, the angle of the asteroid's impact that created the Schrödinger crater resulted in the uneven distribution of rocks scattered in the surrounding area.