Showing posts with label spider crater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spider crater. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 23, 2008



The above is a spectacular new NASA satellite image showing the infamous 'Spider Crater' in Western Australia :
"In this false-color image, the arid landscape appears in varying shades of crimson. Near the center of the image is the Spider, sunlight giving an oddly ghostlike appearance to the steep ridges that form its legs."

The structure of the crater, situated in almost inaccessible terrain, was for many years a mystery until the 1970s when "shatter cones" -- cone-shaped, grooved rocks known only to appear in craters left by meteor or asteroid impacts -- were discovered. The find led scientists to conclude the structure was that of an eroded impact area.

More on this here.

Detail :




WA's 'Spider Crater' has something of a geological twin on planet Mercury.