Specs: Now greatly eroded, the Kara crater is a non-exposed impact structure in Russia. Specs: Located near the Kalahari Desert in South Africa, this crater contained the fossilized remains of the meteorite that created it.Īsteroid impact date: Estimated 70.3 million years ago Even with erosion, it's considered one of the largest and best-preserved craters on Earth, with an estimated diameter of 62 miles (100 kilometers).Īsteroid impact date: Estimated 145 million years ago Specs: This impact crater formed what is now Lake Manicouagan. Reports on its diameter vary from 25 to 75 miles (40 to 120 kilometers).Īsteroid impact date: Estimated 215 million years ago Specs: This crater is not exposed at the surface and has led to many discrepancies regarding its actual size. Specs: Located in what is now Lake Acraman, this impact structure has an estimated diameter of 56 miles (90 kilometers).Īsteroid impact date: Estimated 364 million years ago Dating back 1.8 billion years, it is also one of the oldest known impact structures in the world.Īsteroid impact date: Estimated 580 million years ago
Specs: The Sudbury Basin is considered one of largest impact structures on Earth, with an estimated diameter of 81 miles (130 kilometers). This crater was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.Īsteroid impact date: Estimated 1.8 billion years ago Specs: Also known as the Vredefort Dome, the Vredefort crater has an estimated radius of 118 miles (190 kilometers), making it the world's largest known impact structure. And though millions-in some cases billions-of years of erosion have made it difficult to determine the exact size of the meteorites, there is a general scientific consensus around the world's largest craters, which mark the largest asteroid impacts.Īsteroid impact date: Estimated 2 billion years ago But the planet has not always been so lucky.Įarth's craters are enduring testaments to direct asteroid hits. The asteroid known as 2012 DA14 will narrowly miss Earth this Friday, the closest asteroid flyby on record.
There's one physical connection that isn't going down after Valentine's Day this year: Earth and asteroid.
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