Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Following are the largest impact craters on various worlds of the Solar System. For a full list of named craters, see List of craters in the Solar System. The ratio column compares the crater diameter with the diameter of the impacted celestial body. The maximum crater diameter is 157% of the body diameter (the circumference along a great circle).
The Vredefort impact structure is the largest verified impact structure on Earth. [1] The crater, which has since been eroded away, has been estimated at 170–300 kilometres (110–190 mi) across when it was formed. [2] [3] The remaining structure, comprising the deformed underlying bedrock, is located in present-day Free State province of ...
The EID lists fewer than ten such craters, and the largest in the last 100,000 years (100 ka) is the 4.5 km (2.8 mi) Rio Cuarto crater in Argentina. [2] However, there is some uncertainty regarding its origins [ 3 ] and age, with some sources giving it as < 10 ka [ 2 ] [ 4 ] while the EID gives a broader < 100 ka.
An impact crater is a depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, [2] impact craters typically have raised rims and floors that are lower in elevation than the surrounding terrain. [3]
This is a list of officially named craters in the Solar System as named by IAU's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. As of 2017, there is a total of 5,223 craters on 40 astronomical bodies, which includes minor planets (asteroids and dwarf planets), planets, and natural satellites. [1]
The Batagay crater isn't actually a crater at all. It's the world's largest "retrogressive thaw slump," a pit that forms when permafrost thaw causes the ground to cave in, creating a landslide as ...
Mead crater is the largest impact crater on Venus, with a diameter of 280 km (174 miles). [1] The crater has an inner and an outer ring and a small ejecta blanket surrounding the outer ring. Mead crater is relatively shallow (likely due to viscous relaxation [2] and infilling) and crater floor looks very similar in morphology to the surrounding ...
The outermost ring was identified using seismic reflection data. It is up to 130 kilometers (81 mi) from the crater center, and is a ring of normal faults, throwing down towards the crater center, marking the outer limit of significant crustal deformation. This makes it one of the three largest impact structures on Earth.