Hickman Crater
Encyclopedia
The Hickman Crater is a newly discovered probable meteorite
impact crater
, 35 kilometres north of Newman, Western Australia
in the Ophthalmia Range
. It was discovered by Arthur Hickman, a Government
Geologist
with the Geological Survey of Western Australia
, in July 2007.
The discovery was made by chance while browsing Google Earth
.
About 260 metres wide and 30 metres deep, the crater is thought to be between 10,000 and 100,000 years old.
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
impact crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
, 35 kilometres north of Newman, Western Australia
Newman, Western Australia
Newman, located about 1186 km north of Perth and 9 km north of the Tropic of Capricorn, is a town in the Pilbara region. It can be reached by the Great Northern Highway...
in the Ophthalmia Range
Ophthalmia Range
Ophthalmia Range is a range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.The range is located approximately North of Perth and the nearest town is Newman which is found approximately South of the range in the Hamersley Range....
. It was discovered by Arthur Hickman, a Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
Geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
with the Geological Survey of Western Australia
Geological Survey of Western Australia
The Geological Survey of Western Australia is an authority within the Department of Mines and Petroleum of the Government of Western Australia that is responsible for surveying and exploration of Western Australia's geological resources....
, in July 2007.
The discovery was made by chance while browsing Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
.
About 260 metres wide and 30 metres deep, the crater is thought to be between 10,000 and 100,000 years old.
External links
- Aussie finds meteorite crater on Google Earth at Cosmos Magazine