crater

KRAY-ternoun

A bowl-shaped hole blasted by something falling from the sky.

📰 Seen in the news

A camper scouting campsites on satellite maps spotted an odd circle in Quebec. Scientists followed his tip and confirmed a 25-kilometre impact crater from ~390 million years ago — the biggest new crater found since 2018. It made NASA's Image of the Day on 15 Sep 2026.

The Brighter Side · NASA Image of the Day 15 Sep ↗

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What is a "crater"?

Craters are receipts from outer space

When a space rock hits the ground, the energy excavates a bowl-shaped hole — that's a crater. Earth's keep getting erased by wind, rain and volcanoes, so a fresh 25-km one from 390 million years ago is a big deal. The clincher? Shatter cones — cone-shaped fractures only a meteorite impact can print into rock. No shatter cones, no crater.

Keep it: Spotted an odd circle on a map? Ask. The camper who did is now in NASA's Image of the Day.

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