Deep in the Sahara Desert lies a crater. Nearly a perfect circle, it is 1.9 kilometers (1.2 miles) wide, and sports a rim 100 meters (330 feet) high. Modern geologists long debated what caused this crater, some of them favoring a volcano. But closer examination of the structure revealed that the crater’s hardened “lava” was actually rock that had melted from a meteorite impact.
Published Feb 17, 2008
Wolfe Creek Crater is the second largest crater in the world from which meteorite fragments have been collected. Because of its excellent preservation, the crater clearly shows the classic features that result from a large meteorite striking the Earth.
Published Feb 24, 2008
Germany’s Ries Crater (or Nördlinger Ries) is not easily discerned in space-based images. The crater’s existence was probably just as subtle to the medieval Europeans who established a settlement inside it and unknowingly matched their 1-kilometer- (0.6-mile-) wide city to the likely diameter of the meteorite that formed the crater.
Published Mar 9, 2008
India’s Lonar Crater began causing confusion soon after it was identified. Lonar Crater sits inside the Deccan Plateau—a massive plain of volcanic basalt rock leftover from eruptions some 65 million years ago. Its location in this basalt field suggested to some geologists that it was a volcanic crater. Today, however, Lonar Crater is understood to result from a meteorite impact that occurred between 35,000 and 50,000 years ago.
Published Apr 13, 2008
Acquired October 10, 2007, this false-color image shows Chiyli Crater in western Kazakhstan. Vegetation appears red, and clings primarily to riverbanks near the crater. Sunlight illuminates south-facing slopes, including the central peak of the crater.
Published Jan 31, 2010
Spider Crater rests in a depression some 13 by 11 kilometers (8 by 7 miles) across. Meteorite craters often have central areas of uplift, and Spider Crater fits this pattern. Spider Crater sits in a depression and has a central uplift area characteristic of impact craters, it shows extreme differences in erosion, giving it a unique appearance.
Published Mar 30, 2008
Deep in the Congo, the Luizi Crater was uncovered though a combination of satellite images and field surveys.
Published Jun 24, 2012
