Tycho Crater is one of the most prominent impact craters on Earth’s Moon, located in the southern lunar highlands. It spans about 85 kilometers (53 miles) in diameter and was formed roughly 108 million years ago when a large asteroid struck the lunar surface. The impact created a deep crater with steep walls, terraced edges, and a dramatic central peak that rises about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) above the crater floor.

Tycho is especially famous for its bright ray system—long streaks of ejected material that radiate outward across the Moon’s surface for over 1,500 kilometers (930 miles). These rays make Tycho easily visible from Earth with even small telescopes and are best seen during a full Moon, when the sunlight reflects strongly off the relatively young, bright material blasted out during the impact.