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Brief Communications
Nature 434, 157 (10 March 2005) | doi:10.1038/434157a; Published online 9 March 2005
Planetary science: Meteor Crater formed by low-velocity impact
H. J. Melosh1 & G. S. Collins1,2
Abstract
The paucity of melted rock in this crater may be due to the striking projectile's speed.
Abstract
P. L. KRESAN
Making an impression: Meteor Crater in Arizona (35° 2' N, 111° 1' W) is roughly 1.2 kilometres across.
Meteor Crater in Arizona was the first terrestrial structure to be widely recognized as a meteorite impact scar and has probably been more intensively studied than any other impact crater on Earth. We have discovered something surprising about its mode of formation — namely that the surface-impact velocity of the iron meteorite that created Meteor Crater was only about 12 km s-1. This is close to the 9.4 km s-1 minimum originally proposed1 but far short of the 15–20 km s-1 that has been widely assumed2 — a realization that clears up a long-standing puzzle about why the crater does not contain large volumes of rock melted by the impact.
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