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.
Meteoroid impacts create seismic waves that cause Mars to shake more strongly and deeply than previously thought. This is shown by an investigation using artificial intelligence carried out by an international research team ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 3, 2025
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The organic material found in a few areas on the surface of dwarf planet Ceres is probably of exogenic origin. Impacting asteroids from the outer asteroid belt may have brought it with them.
Astrobiology
Jan 27, 2025
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275
A near-Earth object was likely ejected into space after an impact thousands of years ago. Now it could contribute new insights to asteroid and lunar science.
Planetary Sciences
Jan 22, 2025
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55
A doorbell camera on a Canadian home captured rare video and sound of a meteorite striking Earth as it crashed into a couple's walkway.
Space Exploration
Jan 18, 2025
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Sometimes, it's hard to remember that Earth is constantly being bombarded by literally tons of space debris daily. The larger bits form what we know as shooting stars, and most burn up in the atmosphere. Still, throughout ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 2, 2025
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70
Pocked with craters, the surfaces of many celestial bodies in our solar system provide clear evidence of a 4.6-billion-year battering by meteoroids and other space debris. But on some worlds, including the giant asteroid ...
Planetary Sciences
Dec 21, 2024
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128
The asteroid that extinguished the dinosaurs is estimated to have been about 10 kilometers across. That's about as wide as Brooklyn. Such a massive impactor is predicted to hit Earth rarely, once every 100 million to 500 ...
Planetary Sciences
Dec 9, 2024
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46
The South Pole-Aitken basin is the moon's oldest and largest visible crater—a massive geological wound 4 billion years old that preserves secrets about the moon's early history, much like a lunar time capsule.
Planetary Sciences
Dec 6, 2024
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111
Billions of years ago, a giant asteroid struck the moon with so much energy that it melted rock until it was super-heated and white-hot, or what scientists call impact melt. This eventually cooled and hardened, creating a ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 18, 2024
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61
An asteroid struck Mars 11 million years ago and sent pieces of the red planet hurtling through space. One of these chunks of Mars eventually crashed into the Earth somewhere near Purdue University and is one of the few meteorites ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 13, 2024
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