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They look like something you would find in a galaxy far, far away.
But these incredible satellite images show the destructive impact asteroids and meteorites have carved into the Earth’s surface, resulting in a number of eerily beautiful sites.
The eye-catching photos feature in the world’s first atlas of the various craters that can be found around the world.
Incredible satellite images show the destructive impact asteroids and meteorites have carved into the Earth’s surface, like the Cobbler in Western Australia (pictured)
The eye-catching photos feature in the world’s first atlas of craters that can be found all over the world, like the Lonar in India (pictured)
The 600-page tome features over 200 sites formed by asteroids and comets colliding with the planet, on high-resolution topographic maps and satellite images.
It includes detailed geological descriptions and photographs of the breathtaking rocky landscapes.
Entitled Earth Impact Structures, the two volumes include “essential details” about each impact crater, including those that have now disappeared from view.
Most craters only last a few thousand years before being filled or eroded, and then can only be identified by unique changes in soil minerals from the shock wave created on impact. .
Co-author Professor Thomas Kenkmann of the University of Freiburg in Germany said: “The formation of craters by the impact of asteroids and comets has always been a fundamental process in the solar system.
The 600-page tome features over 200 sites such as Brazil’s Serra da Cangalha (pictured) that are formed by asteroids and comets colliding with the planet
Researchers used a low-orbit radar satellite dubbed TanDEM-X between 2010 and 2016 to measure every known crater on the Earth’s surface with height accuracy of up to one meter. Pictured: Manicouagan crater in Quebec, Canada
“ As the planets developed with their moons, these impacts played an important role in increasing planetary mass, shaping the surfaces of planetary bodies and, later, influencing their development as well.
“And larger meteorite impacts ultimately affected the development of life on Earth.
Researchers used a low-orbit radar satellite dubbed TanDEM-X between 2010 and 2016 to measure every known crater on the Earth’s surface with height accuracy of up to one meter.
These measurements helped them build a digital terrain model of every known crater, including Manicouagan Crater in Canada, Cerro do Jarau in Brazil, The Cobbler in Western Australia, and Gweni-Fada in Chad, Africa.
Professor Kenkmann said: “ Lunar and interplanetary space flights over the past 50 years have provided us with detailed maps of the ancient impact crater covered surfaces of our neighbors in the solar system.
Most craters, such as the Ries in Germany (pictured) only last a few thousand years before being filled or eroded, and can then only be identified by unique changes in soil minerals from the shock wave created upon impact.
“For Earth, the global impact crater record is only a fraction of the bombardment our planet has had to endure.
The books also introduce readers to the basics of impact craterization, radar remote sensing, and provide details on the TanDEM-X mission and the field work undertaken by the researchers.
Famous craters such as the Vredefort and the Chicxulub crater in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, which put an end to the dinosaurs, are also featured in the atlas.
Believed to have been 185 miles in diameter and 25 miles deep, the world’s largest and oldest crater, Vredefort, appeared when a meteorite or asteroid struck what is now South Africa about 2.02 billion years ago.
The books also introduce readers to the basics of impact craterization, radar remote sensing, and provide details on the TanDEM-X mission and the field work undertaken by the researchers. Pictured: Gwendi-Fada crater in Chad
It is difficult to assess the true magnitude of these collisions, as the craters have shrunk and, in many cases, disappeared.
Professor Kenkmann said: “The surface of our planet is constantly changing and after a few thousand years craters can disappear.
“In some of them, a lake has formed or they have been buried, others are completely eroded.
But the shock wave creates changes in the minerals in the soil that are unique, so even if you can’t see the crater, the signature of the shock remains.
“What we’re summarizing in this atlas are all the confirmed impact structures, even the ones you can’t see.
The measurements helped them build a digital terrain model of every known crater, including the Manicouagan crater in Canada and Cerro do Jarau in Brazil (pictured)
The largest crater in the UK is underwater, around 40 km off the north-west coast of Scotland and therefore not listed in the atlas.
The submarine hole, first discovered in 2008, was dug when a rock weighing three billion tons crashed in the Mich Basin between the Isles of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides at 40,000 miles per hour.
Asked about his favorite crater, Prof Kenkmann said: “ I have a special relationship with these craters in which I have done fieldwork, sometimes in adventurous conditions.
“ Australia’s craters often need helicopter access and then you are alone in the hinterland for a few weeks mapping and investigating the structures of the crater.
“It’s really cool.
Famous craters such as the Vredefort and the Chicxulub crater in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, which put an end to the dinosaurs, are also featured in the atlas. Pictured: Lappajarvi crater in Finland
He added: “ The investigation of Utah’s morphologically spectacular Upheaval Dome crater in Canyonlands National Park on the Colorado Plateau was also very interesting.
“This crater is deeply eroded and gives a full 3D overview of what’s going on with the rock under a crater.
“ By the way, this crater was originally thought to be a salt dome until we could detect the shocked minerals and prove its origin of impact. ”
The books, delivered in a boxed set, are available for purchase from the publisher Verlag Pfeil’s website.
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