Impact cratering is the process by which hypervelocity collisions of extraterrestrial bodies (e.g., asteroids, comets, meteoroids) with a planetary surface excavate material and form characteristic circular depressions. It involves three main stages: contact and compression, where shock waves propagate and generate extreme pressures and temperatures; excavation, during which target material is displaced outward and upward, forming a transient cavity and ejecta; and modification, where gravitational collapse and rock rheology reshape the transient cavity into a final crater morphology. Impact cratering is a fundamental geologic process that influences crustal structure, surface evolution, and volatile redistribution on solid bodies throughout the Solar System.
For the first time in Brazil, researchers have identified a field of tektites. These are natural glasses formed by the high-energy impact of extraterrestrial bodies against Earth's surface. These structures, named geraisites ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 20, 2026
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Astronomers have long debated why so many icy objects in the outer solar system look like snowmen. Michigan State University researchers now have evidence of the surprisingly simple process that could be responsible for their ...
Astronomy
Feb 19, 2026
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Recent research suggests that Saturn's bright rings and its largest moon, Titan, may have both originated in collisions among its moons. While Cassini's 13-year mission expanded our understanding of Saturn, the discoveries ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 11, 2026
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Scientists from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the CAS Aerospace Information Research Institute, and other institutions, have revised the decades-old lunar crater chronology ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 10, 2026
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New tools unlock new discoveries in science. So when a new type of non-destructive technology becomes widely available, it's inevitable that planetary scientists will get their hands on it to test it on some meteorites. A ...
Astrobiology
Feb 4, 2026
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Most near-Earth asteroids are thought to drift in from the main asteroid belt. But a small subset may have a much closer origin: the moon. One intriguing example is 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3), an Earth quasi-satellite ...
Astronomy
Feb 2, 2026
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A new study using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) has revealed that the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago caused only a modest decline in shark and ray species. The findings, published ...
Evolution
Jan 28, 2026
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170
There's a bright side to every situation. In 2032, the moon itself might have a particularly bright side if it is blasted by a 60-meter-wide asteroid. The chances of such an event are still relatively small (only around 4%) ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 27, 2026
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47
For a long time, scientists assumed that Earth's water was delivered by asteroids and comets billions of years ago. This coincided with the Late Heavy Bombardment (ca. 4.1 to 3.8 billion years ago), a period when planets ...
Astrobiology
Jan 25, 2026
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70
The asteroid that struck the Earth 66 million years ago devastated life across the planet, wiping out the dinosaurs and other organisms in a hail of fire and catastrophic climate change. But new research shows that it also ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 22, 2026
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