Measuring the ages of planets and stars is tricky. An observational astrophysicist describes the subtle clues that provide good estimates for how old different space objects are.
Research on the Deniliquin structure points to an asteroid impact that would have been more than double the scale of the one that killed the dinosaurs.
Helen Brand, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Meteor impacts are an inevitable part of being a rocky planet in space. The craters they leave behind are a window into the tumultuous history of Earth.
Across the solar system, asteroids and comets crash into moons and planets every day. The rocket collision will provide researchers with important data on how these collisions work.
An illustration shows how, about 65 million years ago, a large asteroid collided with Earth. It hit what is today Mexico and created the Chicxulub crater.
Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library/Getty Images
New research suggests how asteroids may have helped create conditions for life on Earth. But we shouldn’t get too carried away with the idea – yet.
The moon’s Orientale impact basin, with rings. Red corresponds to ‘hills’ and blue to ‘valleys’.
Ernest Wright, NASA/GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio.)
High in the mountains of Morocco, scientists have discovered something remarkable and rare: a spot that was struck by two meteorites, possibly millions of years apart.
The big hole left behind tells only part of the story.
Shane.torgerson
The Barringer meteor crater is an iconic Arizona landmark, more than 1km wide and 170 metres deep, left behind by a massive 300,000 tonne meteorite that hit Earth 50,000 years ago with a force equivalent…