66 million years ago an asteroid struck offshore of what is now Chicxulub near the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. The impact and its aftermath are widely credited with a mass Keep reading
Tag: asteroid impact
Megaripples Beneath Louisiana
Approximately 66 million years ago, a 10-km asteroid struck our planet near Chicxulub on the Yucatán Peninsula. The impact was globally catastrophic, causing tsunamis, wildfires, earthquakes, and so much atmosphere-clogging Keep reading
Scaling High-Speed Impacts
The impact of a solid object into a bed of grains is a major topic in many fields from ballistics to astronomy. Researchers study these impacts experimentally using photoelastic disks, Keep reading
Earth, Moon, and Magma Ocean
Among objects in our solar system, the Moon is rather unusual. It’s the only large moon paired with a rocky planet, and only Pluto’s Charon boasts a larger size relative Keep reading
Rays in Craters
On bodies around the solar system, there are craters marking billions of years’ worth of impacts. Many of these craters have rays–distinctive lines radiating out from the point of impact. Keep reading
Prehistoric Seiche
Sixty-six million years ago, a meteorite impact in modern-day Mexico wiped out the dinosaurs and most other living species of the time. To call the event catastrophic feels like an Keep reading
Craters and Rays
The history of our solar system is written in impact craters, but these craters have been remarkably mysterious for years. Scientists knew that you could recreate many of their features Keep reading
Forming Craters
Asteroid impacts are a major force in shaping planetary bodies over the course of their geological history. As such, they receive a great deal of attention and study, often in Keep reading