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.
In a scientific breakthrough with cosmic implications, researchers have, for the first time, precisely dated the emergence of microbial life within a meteorite impact crater—revealing that life not only survives catastrophe, ...
Astrobiology
Sep 17, 2025
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New Curtin University research has uncovered a striking link between the structure of our galaxy and the evolution of Earth's crust, showing its development was shaped by the impact of meteorites during its journey through ...
Astronomy
Sep 16, 2025
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During the early days of our solar system, giant impacts were common occurrences. Earth likely experienced such an impact that created our moon, and Mars may have been struck by objects that created its asymmetrical surface ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 11, 2025
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Most people are aware that an asteroid wiped out much of life on Earth around 65 million years ago, and this knowledge contributes to that chill of fear that many people experience, at least occasionally, that something like ...
Note: On February 11, 2026, the article by Christopher R. Moore et al., "A 12,800-year-old layer with cometary dust, microspherules, and platinum anomaly recorded in multiple cores from Baffin Bay," on which the news item ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 6, 2025
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When high-velocity asteroids land on Earth, they can form a meteor impact crater. Such collisions have occurred throughout Earth's history and still occur on other planetary bodies today.
Planetary Sciences
Jul 24, 2025
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Impact craters are formed when an object from space such as a meteoroid, asteroid or comet strikes Earth at a very high velocity. This leaves an excavated circular hole in the Earth's surface.
Planetary Sciences
Jul 21, 2025
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Geology is full of detective stories about the Earth's history, and a new paper in Geology by University of New Mexico Distinguished Professors Emeritus Karl Karlstrom and Laurie Crossey, along with their co‐authors, links ...
Space Exploration
Jul 15, 2025
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89
Ever been late because you misread a clock? Sometimes, the "clocks" geologists use to date events can also be misread. Unraveling Earth's 4.5-billion-year history with rocks is tricky business.
Planetary Sciences
Jul 10, 2025
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When NASA's DART spacecraft slammed into the asteroid moon Dimorphos in September 2022, it didn't just change the asteroid's orbit as intended—it unleashed a massive barrage of boulders that carried more than three times ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 8, 2025
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