Tag

Impact Crater

All articles tagged with #impact crater

science1 month ago•6 min saved

Hidden in plain sight: a 390-million-year-old crater unearthed in Quebec

Amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe spotted a circular depression on Google Maps in northern Quebec, sparking investigation that led scientists to confirm it as a 390-million-year-old meteorite impact crater named Uhackatik, following evidence of shatter cones and impact melt rocks. The crater, about 25 km wide, predates dinosaurs and offers a window into early terrestrial life. A 2025 expedition and collaboration with the Ekuanitshit Innu council culminated in naming the site and solidifying Canada’s newest crater discovery since 2010, illustrating how citizen observations can contribute to deep-time geology.

via The Times of India|

#impact-crater #meteorite #quebec

science1 month ago•41 min saved

Hike-driven Google Maps find reveals 390-million-year-old meteor crater in Canada

A ~25 km-wide pit spotted on Google Maps in Quebec’s Côte-Nord region has been confirmed as a 390-million-year-old meteor impact crater, named Uhaachatik Crater. Evidence includes visible shatter cones and cliffs of impact melt rock; zircon alone wasn’t proof, so scientists dated the rocks on site. Discovered by amateur Joël Lapointe in 2024, the crater was investigated by Western University’s Gordon Osinski and Pierre Rochette, with the Indigenous community naming it after local people. It’s a rare, sizable Canadian crater, adding to Earth’s known impacts, and researchers plan further study of the samples.

via Yahoo|

#canada #geology #impact-crater

science2 months ago•110 min saved

Earth’s oldest crater re-dated to ~3.0 billion years ago

A new study dates minerals from the North Pole Dome crater in Western Australia to about 3.0 billion years ago, down from the earlier 3.47 billion-year estimate. While still the oldest known impact crater on Earth, it is roughly 800 million years older than the next-oldest confirmed crater, Yarrabubba. The researchers used zircon and other minerals in shatter cones and a shocked quartz vein, noting that later tectonic and thermal activity could produce younger features, which helps explain why previous dating may have overestimated the age.

via Live Science|

#earth-science #geology #impact-crater

science-and-tech5 months ago•263 min saved

Brazil’s Glass Orbs Reveal Hidden Ancient Meteorite Impact

An international team reports a 900-kilometer tektite strewn field in Minas Gerais, Brazil, dating to as much as 6.3 million years ago, evidence of a large meteorite impact, but the crater has not yet been found; researchers hope magnetic and gravimetric studies will reveal its ring-shaped footprint near the field.

via AOL.com|

#brazil #geology #impact-crater

planet-earth6 months ago•68 min saved

China’s forest hides Earth's youngest major crater

A 1.15-mile-wide, incomplete crater in Heilongjiang, China—the Yilan crater—is believed to be the youngest major impact structure on Earth, dating roughly 46,000–53,000 years ago. Discovered in 2021 after forest cover concealed it, the ringed feature is the largest known crater of its age and could be younger than Barringer Crater, though age estimates remain uncertain.

via Live Science|

#china #earth-from-space #geology

space8 months ago•3 min saved

NASA Captures Stunning Explosion on Mars

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured a striking image of a recent impact crater on Mars, revealing a dramatic blast zone and ejecta pattern, providing valuable insights into Martian surface changes and impact frequency.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#geological-event #hirise #impact-crater

science9 months ago•2 min saved

Largest Modern Crater Discovered in Southern China

Scientists in China have discovered the Jinlin crater, the largest known impact crater from the Holocene epoch, measuring 900 meters in diameter and remarkably well-preserved despite environmental conditions, shedding new light on Earth's impact history and the frequency of extraterrestrial collisions.

via Phys.org|

#china #holocene #impact-crater

science9 months ago•3 min saved

Life Reemerges in Finnish Crater After Four Million Years

Four million years after an asteroid impact created Finland's Lake Lappajärvi, microbial life had already begun to recolonize the crater's rocks, demonstrating rapid biological resilience and suggesting impact sites elsewhere, like Mars, could also harbor ancient life.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#astrobiology #geology #impact-crater

science9 months ago•4 min saved

Flashy Boom Unveils New Microbe Habitat

Researchers studying the Lake Lappajärvi impact structure in Finland found evidence that microbes colonized the site roughly 4 million years after the asteroid impact, revealing how quickly life can establish in post-impact environments and providing insights into early life on Earth and potential extraterrestrial habitats.

via Space|

#asteroid-impact #early-life-on-earth #impact-crater

science10 months ago•3 min saved

Cosmic Collision Creates Unusual North Sea Crater, Study Finds

A new study confirms that the Silverpit Crater in the North Sea was formed by a cosmic impact around 50 million years ago, creating a deep crater and a massive tsunami, supported by seismic imaging and shocked mineral evidence, settling a long-standing debate over its origin.

via ScienceAlert|

#cosmic-collision #eocene-epoch #impact-crater

science11 months ago•4 min saved

Life Flourished in 78 Million-Year-Old Asteroid Crater

Researchers have precisely dated the colonization of microbial life in the hydrothermal system of a 78-million-year-old impact crater in Finland, showing microbes thrived for millions of years after the asteroid impact, providing insights into life's resilience and implications for astrobiology.

via ScienceAlert|

#astrobiology #geochronology #hydrothermal-system

science11 months ago•5 min saved

Geologists Discover Evidence of Alien Impact and Tsunami in North Carolina

Geologists in North Carolina have discovered evidence of a late Eocene extraterrestrial impact and subsequent tsunami, including impact debris, iridium spikes, and tsunami deposits, linked to the nearby Chesapeake Bay impact structure, providing new insights into regional impact history and sea level changes.

via Earth.com|

#eocene #impact-crater #iridium

science11 months ago•4 min saved

Siberian Meteorite Impact Formed Earth's Saturn-Like Rings and Massive Diamond Crater

Approximately 34 million years ago, a massive meteorite impact created the Popigai crater in Siberia, transforming graphite into industrial diamonds and contributing to a global cooling event that led to the Eocene–Oligocene extinction, with impacts and volcanic activity significantly reshaping Earth's biodiversity and climate.

via Energy Reporters|

#climate-change #earth #impact-crater

science1 year ago•5 min saved

Revised Age of Earth's Oldest Impact Crater Revealed

Recent studies revising the age and size of the Miralga impact crater in Australia suggest it is much younger (between 2.7 billion and 400 million years ago) and smaller (about 16 km in diameter) than previously thought, challenging earlier claims that it was 3.5 billion years old and over 100 km wide. This discovery provides valuable insights into Earth's early impact history and offers a unique site for planetary science research related to Mars.

via Space|

#australia #earths-history #geology

science1 year ago•5 min saved

Revised Age of Earth's Oldest Impact Crater Revealed

Recent research revises the age and size of the Miralga impact crater in Australia, showing it formed between 2.7 billion and 400 million years ago and is about 16 km in diameter, much younger and smaller than previously thought, with implications for understanding Earth's early history and Mars exploration.

via yahoo.com|

#australia #earths-oldest-crater #geology