Oldest Crater of the World Isn't a Meteorite Crash Site, Here's What Geological Study Reveal

Many years after scientists found the oldest crater made by a meteorite on Earth, another team of scientists discovered it is actually the outcome of normal geological processes.

While they are doing fieldwork at the Archean Maniitsoq structure in Greenland, an international team of researchers which the University of Waterloo's Chris Yakymchuk led, discovered that this region's features are inconsistent with an impact crater.

An article posted on Phys.org said, in 2012, a different team identified it as the residue of the three-billion-year-old meteorite crater.

Zakymchuk, a professor in Waterloo's Department of Earth and Environment Sciences explained, Zircon crystals found in the rock are akin to time capsules.

More so, they preserve olden damage that resulted from shockwaves gotten from a meteorite effect. The professor said his team did not find such damage in them.

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The 'Metamorphism' Process

There are many places where the rocks melted and recrystallized deep in this planet. This process, according to the team's study, is called 'metamorphism.'

The study authors explain that such a process would occur almost instantly if generated from an effect. The Waterloo-led team discovered that it occurred about 40 million years after compared to the earlier team proposed.

Yakymchuk said they went there to discover the area for possible mineral exploration. Through close investigation of the site and collection of data since 2012, they concluded the features are inconsistent with meteorite impact.

The lead author also explained, while they were disappointed that they were not working in a structure that was the outcome of a meteorite striking the planet three billion years back, science is about progressing knowledge through exploration and their insight into the ancient history of Earth continues evolving.

The research team's findings provide scientific data for resource companies and Greenlandic prospectors to discover new mineral resources. Their study is published in the Earth and Planetary Science Letters journal.

How an 'Impact Crater' is Formed

According to NASA's description on impact crater, it is formed when an object like a meteorite or asteroid crashes into the surface of a huger solid like a moon or planet.

In order for a true impact crater to form, this object needs to travel really fast, like several thousands of miles an hour.

Moreover, when a solid object smashes into something at these ultrafast speeds, it's forming a crater regardless of its toughness or hardness.

It is instantly vaporizing and creating gigantic shockwaves through the ground, melting and recrystallizing rock. All that has remained is a huge round hole in the ground and some seriously mashed rocks.

Essentially, Meteor Crater, also called Barringer Crater, in Arizona was the first crater identified to have been formed by an extraterrestrial effect. Related information is shown on AZ Family's YouTube video below.

It went into formation some 50,000 years back from a meteorite that, according to NASA, has been put up roughly 150 feet wide, traveling over 28,000 mph.

Tyco Crater, on the other hand, in the southern hemisphere of the moon, is believed to be roughly 108 million years old, young, by the standards of the moon.