Impact Crater Lab

Impact Crater Lab1. Place a sheet of butcher paper on the floor and your bin of

flour in the center of the paper.2. Sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon over your flour to make

a very thin layer.3. Hold your “meteoroid” 30 cm above the surface of the flour.4. Drop the “meteoroid” into the flour.5. Measure the diameter, depth, and length of the average ray

in cm and record your data.6. Repeat 3 more times.7. Find the average of each measurment.8. Level the flour and repeat the lab for 60 cm, 90 cm, and 2 m.

Warnings!1. Do not make a mess. Be responsible.2. Do not throw your meteoroid. Gravity is the

only force that should accelerate the meteoroid.

3. Use only a small amount of cinnamon between different height trials. Do not redo the cinnamon between trials for the same height.

4. Any horseplay will result in removal from the lab.

Impact Crater Lab1. Place a sheet of butcher paper on the floor and

your bin of flour in the center of the paper.2. Sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon over your

flour to make a very thin layer.3. Hold your “meteoroid” 30 cm above the surface of

the flour.4. Drop the “meteoroid” into the flour.5. Measure the diameter, depth, and length of the

average ray in cm and record your data.6. Repeat 3 more times.7. Find the average of each measurment.8. Level the flour and repeat the lab for 60 cm, 90 cm,

and 2 m.

Impact Craters

The Moon

The Moon

The Moon

The Moon

The Moon

The Moon

The Moon

Slow Motion Milk Drop Experiment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86zIqI3SVIY&feature=related

Slow Motion Impact Crater Simulation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzIw0c_MjTc

Aristarchus Crater on Moon

Parts of the Crater

Impact Crater Vocabulary• Floor: The bowl shaped or flat area• Central Uplift: Mountains formed due to the

increase and rapid decrease in pressure during an impact

• Wall: steep sides of the crater area• Raised Rim: Rock thrown out of the crater and

deposited in a ring-shaped pile at the crater's edge during an impact

• Ejecta: blanket of material surrounding the crater that is thrown out during the impact

• Rays: The bright streaks starting from a crater and extending away for great distances

Venusian Crater

A

B

C

Mercury

Composite taken by Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974

Mercury

Mercury

Venus

Photo taken by Pioneer Venus Probe in 1979

Venus

Radar image taken by Magellan spacecraft

Venus

Venus

Earth

Earth

Vredefort Crater South Africa2 bya250 km across

Earth

Manicouagan Crater Quebec, Canada212 mya70 km across

Earth

Chixulub Crater Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico65 mya170 km across(possibly killed dinosaurs)

Earth

Clearwater Twin Craters Quebec, Canada290 mya32 km and 22 km across

Earth

Barringer CraterArizona, USA50,000 mya1.2 km across

Earth

Wolfe Creek CraterAustralia300,000 tya0.8 km across

Earth

Bosumtwi CraterGhana, Africa1.3 mya10.5 km across

Mars

Photo taken by the Hubble Telescope

Mars

Mars

Mars

Mars

Mars

Jupiter

Photo taken by Galileo Spacecraft in 1995

Jupiter

Impacts in 1995 by Shoemaker Levy Comet.Photo by Hubble telescope

Jupiter’s Moons (63!)

Ganymede

Jupiter’s Moons

Calisto

Jupiter’s Moons

Amalthea

Saturn

Photo taken by Hubble Telescope

Saturn’s Moons (53!)

Mimas

Saturn’s Moons

Enceladus

Saturn’s Moons

Titan (life?)