Satellite photos of the famous Arizona crater.

In the run-up to International Asteroid Day on 30 June, ESA has released an image from the Sentinel-2 satellite showing the famous Arizona Crater, also known as the Barringer meteorite crater.

About 50,000 years ago, an iron-nickel meteorite estimated to be 30 to 50 meters in diameter entered the Earth’s atmosphere and fell into the area now known as Arizona. The massive impact left a bowl-shaped hole more than 1,200 meters in diameter and 180 meters deep in what was once a flat rocky plain.

During its formation, millions of tons of limestone and sandstone were ejected from the crater, covering the surrounding area with debris for more than a kilometer in all directions. Large blocks of limestone, about the size of a small house, were hurled to the edge of the sinkhole.

One of the main features of the crater is its square shape. It is believed to have been formed by defects in the rock that caused it to break off in four directions upon impact.

The impact occurred during the last ice age, when the plain around it was covered with forest where mammoths and giant sloths grazed. Over time, the climate changed and it became drier. The desert we see today has helped preserve the crater by limiting its erosion, and is therefore a great place to study the formation of impact craters.

The Arizona Crater is considered one of the places on Earth that most closely resembles the terrain of the Moon. In the 1960s, it was used to train astronauts preparing for their trip to the Moon. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction. About 270,000 people visit the crater each year.

We have already told you about the craters located on the territory of Ukraine.

According to ESA