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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]
More recent evidence suggests the crater is 300 km (190 mi) wide, and the 180 km (110 mi) ring observed is an inner wall of the larger crater. [19] Hildebrand, Penfield, Boynton, Camargo, and others published their paper identifying the crater in 1991. [10] [16] The crater was named for the nearby town of Chicxulub Pueblo. Penfield also ...
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 animation modelling the impact, and subsequent crater formation of the Chicxulub impact (University of Arizona, Space Imagery Center) The prehistoric Chicxulub impact , 66 million years ago, believed to be the cause of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, was caused by an asteroid estimated to be about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) wide.
Finding a crater of that size buried in plain view is tricky because of erosion and sediment movement. Even Earth’s shifting tectonic plates can alter the crater. Glikson says that when an ...
A volcanic crater is a bowl-shaped depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity, usually located above the volcano's vent. [11] During volcanic eruptions, molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an underground magma chamber, through a conduit, until they reach the crater's vent, from where the gases escape into the atmosphere and the magma is erupted as lava.
At Cap d’Erquy, along the northern coast of France, the satellite system picked up on potential structures buried into a crater, according to the release, and the researchers took a closer look.
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.