After searching the ice-covered lands of Greenland, scientists have discovered what appears to be a massive impact crater that was previously hidden by more than a kilometer of ice. As it would seem, the cavity measures more than 300 meters deep and 31 kilometers wide. To put that into perspective, the city of Paris would fit inside of it.
The crater was initially spotted in 2015, but researchers have relentlessly studied it ever since. Citing NASA Goddard, the impact crater qualifies for the list of the 25 largest impact craters ever discovered, and it’s reportedly the first one ever found beneath Earth’s vast ice sheets.
The discovery of this impact crater underscores the notion that there could be several more just like it that are scattered around the world and have yet to be unearthed.
These impact craters are important because they tell a story about the early history of our planet. Studying them could tell us critical details, such as their age, what it was that struck the planet, and the damage that ensued.
