Mysterious Circle In Antarctica Could Have Been Caused By Meteorite Crash

  • 9 years ago
A 1.24-mile wide ring in eastern Antarctica was first spotted at the end of 2014 and may be a meteoric crater caused by a crash ten years earlier.

One might think not a lot happens in Antarctica, but that may no longer be a safe assumption.

It appears that a meteorite hit the continent’s eastern region, creating a massive, circular scar in the King Baudouin Ice Shelf.

At least this is what scientists from Fielax and the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany believe happened in 2004 or earlier.

The broken ice was first spotted by geophysicist Christian Müller during a routine surveying flight at the end of December 2014.

The area, about 1.24 miles wide, was the only craggy part in an otherwise flat, unmarked terrain.

The scientists believe that a big meteorite exploded in the atmosphere, expelling debris which crashed onto the ice sheet.

Preliminary evidence includes infrasound data suggesting a meteoric explosion above the area in 2004 and the observation of a dust trail around