Every now and then, the universe rises to make clear the
enormity of its size — and our relative place in it. One such moment was in
February 2013, when an asteroid exploded over the Russian city of Urals,
inflicting panic, broken windows and injuries upon more than 1,000 people.
People were stunned by what happened, but one asteroid expert named Andrew Glikson was
watching from Australia, thinking it could have been much
worse.
If only people realized what asteroids once did to this planet.
The evidence of those days, he said, is embedded beneath Australia’s crust near the East Warburton Basin, below, in the center of the country. In those same weeks, he had found an asteroid crater at least 125 miles in diameter.
He was amazed by its size and what it could mean. “This is a new discovery,” Glikson, of the Australian National University, told Agence France-Presse at the time. “And what really was amazing was the size of the terrain that has been shocked. It’s now a minimum of 200 kilometers, this makes it about the third biggest anywhere in the world.”
Glikson and others believe the impact was felt across the world, changing life’s course and spewing a blanket of ash into the atmosphere that blanketed out the sun. “It’s likely to be part of a particular cluster that was linked with a mass extinction at that time,” he told the Conversation.
But even then, questions lingered. Did the asteroid split before it hit the Earth? Was its impact actually wider than those 200 kilometers? Could it really have been much bigger?
Now nearly two years later, he thinks he has his answer, which he has published in a fresh issue of the geology journal Tectonophysics.
“They appear to be two large structures, with each of them approximately 200 kilometers” in diameter, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “So together, jointly they would form a 400 kilometer structure which is the biggest we know of anywhere in the world.
The consequences are that it could have caused a large mass extinction event at that time, but we still don’t know the age of this asteroid impact and we are still working on it.”
The asteroid broke apart right before impact, Glikson contended, splitting into two halves, each of which was at least six miles across. “It would have been curtains for many life species on the planet at the time,” he said in a statement.
It remains unclear when, exactly, this happened. Given its size, its impact must have corresponded with a mass extinction. “Large impacts like these may have had a far more significant role in the Earth’s evolution than previously thought,” Glikson said.
Now nearly two years later, he thinks he has his answer, which he has published in a fresh issue of the geology journal Tectonophysics.
“They appear to be two large structures, with each of them approximately 200 kilometers” in diameter, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“So together, jointly they would form a 400 kilometer structure which is the biggest we know of anywhere in the world. The consequences are that it could have caused a large mass extinction event at that time, but we still don’t know the age of this asteroid impact and we are still working on it.”
The asteroid broke apart right before impact, Glikson contended, splitting into two halves, each of which was at least six miles across. “It would have been curtains for many life species on the planet at the time,” he said in a statement.
It remains unclear when, exactly, this happened. Given its size, its impact must have corresponded with a mass extinction. “Large impacts like these may have had a far more significant role in the Earth’s evolution than previously thought,” Glikson said.
If only people realized what asteroids once did to this planet.
The evidence of those days, he said, is embedded beneath Australia’s crust near the East Warburton Basin, below, in the center of the country. In those same weeks, he had found an asteroid crater at least 125 miles in diameter.
He was amazed by its size and what it could mean. “This is a new discovery,” Glikson, of the Australian National University, told Agence France-Presse at the time. “And what really was amazing was the size of the terrain that has been shocked. It’s now a minimum of 200 kilometers, this makes it about the third biggest anywhere in the world.”
Glikson and others believe the impact was felt across the world, changing life’s course and spewing a blanket of ash into the atmosphere that blanketed out the sun. “It’s likely to be part of a particular cluster that was linked with a mass extinction at that time,” he told the Conversation.
But even then, questions lingered. Did the asteroid split before it hit the Earth? Was its impact actually wider than those 200 kilometers? Could it really have been much bigger?
Now nearly two years later, he thinks he has his answer, which he has published in a fresh issue of the geology journal Tectonophysics.
“They appear to be two large structures, with each of them approximately 200 kilometers” in diameter, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “So together, jointly they would form a 400 kilometer structure which is the biggest we know of anywhere in the world.
The consequences are that it could have caused a large mass extinction event at that time, but we still don’t know the age of this asteroid impact and we are still working on it.”
The asteroid broke apart right before impact, Glikson contended, splitting into two halves, each of which was at least six miles across. “It would have been curtains for many life species on the planet at the time,” he said in a statement.
It remains unclear when, exactly, this happened. Given its size, its impact must have corresponded with a mass extinction. “Large impacts like these may have had a far more significant role in the Earth’s evolution than previously thought,” Glikson said.
Now nearly two years later, he thinks he has his answer, which he has published in a fresh issue of the geology journal Tectonophysics.
“They appear to be two large structures, with each of them approximately 200 kilometers” in diameter, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“So together, jointly they would form a 400 kilometer structure which is the biggest we know of anywhere in the world. The consequences are that it could have caused a large mass extinction event at that time, but we still don’t know the age of this asteroid impact and we are still working on it.”
The asteroid broke apart right before impact, Glikson contended, splitting into two halves, each of which was at least six miles across. “It would have been curtains for many life species on the planet at the time,” he said in a statement.
It remains unclear when, exactly, this happened. Given its size, its impact must have corresponded with a mass extinction. “Large impacts like these may have had a far more significant role in the Earth’s evolution than previously thought,” Glikson said.
By Terrence McCoy
Picture of the Basin and more info with many thanks to Red Orbit
With may thanks to The Washington Post
