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.

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

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

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

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.