Canadian space agency shares ‘Moon Crater’ picture, but it has roads, buildings

A recent post by the Canadian Space Agency on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) sharing an image of what it called 108 million-year-old Tycho Crater in the Moon’s southern hemisphere, caused quite a stir. The picture gained attention as users highlighted roads and buildings alongside the supposed crater.

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The caption accompanying the image read, “Boom! An impact crater is formed when an object like an asteroid or meteorite crashes into the surface of a larger solid object like a planet, or a moon! Here is Tycho Crater, in the Moon’s southern hemisphere, believed to be about 108 million years old.” The post credited NASA as the source of the photo.

However, sharp-eyed netizens quickly noticed the presence of human-made structures around the crater, prompting humorous remarks and jokes aimed at the Canadian Space Agency.

As the confusion unfolded, it was understood that the image was not of the Moon’s Tycho Crater but rather of Barringer Meteor Crater located in Arizona, United States – a spot known to attract tourists.

“Yeah, bit of an Epic Fail with the image there Canadian Space Agency…surprised the road to the left wasn’t enough of a dead giveaway for you before you decided to post. Alas, we all make mistakes,” a user jokingly replied to the post on X.

“This isn’t April Fools, or is it in Canada? You realise this is an Earth crater with human development,” another user poked fun.

Some even decided to come harshly on the space agency tweet: “This is what it looks like when kids that got participation trophies in school grow up to be rocket scientists. Arizona is now a moon crater.”

The post was also later flagged by X community notes, which added context, “The location shown is not Tycho Crater but Meteor Crater. It is not on the Moon’s southern hemisphere, but on Earth, in Arizona, about an hour’s drive away from Flagstaff. It is not thought to be 108 million years old, but a mere 50,000 years old. And it has a visitor centre.”

What is Tycho Crater on the moon?

According to NASA, Tycho Crater, 85 kilometres in diameter, is one of the most prominent craters on the moon. It appears as a bright spot in the southern highlands with rays of bright material that stretch across much of the nearside.

The space agency added that the crater formed recently enough that its beautiful rays, material ejected during the impact event, are still visible as bright streaks.

What is Barringer Crater in Arizona?

On the other hand, Barringer Crater on Earth is 50,000 years, well preserved 150 meters deep Meteor impact crater in the arid climate of the Colorado Plateau.

NASA says the Meteor Crater formed from the impact of an iron-nickel asteroid about 46 meters across.