Is Australia Home to the Largest Asteroid Impact Crater?

Researchers at University New South Wales believe they’ve discovered the world’s largest asteroid impact crater, dubbed the Deniliquin Structure, near the town of Deniliquin, Australia.

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The crater is believed to be 323 miles in diameter, nearly double the size of the current record-holding Vredefort impact structure in South Africa.

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The impact that caused the crater may have occurred during the Late Ordovician mass extinction event, potentially triggering the Hirnantian glaciation stage.

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This glaciation and mass extinction event are estimated to have eliminated about 85 percent of the planet’s species.

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Andrew Glikson, a UNSW adjunct professor and asteroid impact researcher, has been studying the geophysical makeup of the materials thrown out of the crater during impact.

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The discovery of such a large crater is challenging due to erosion, sediment movement, and Earth’s shifting tectonic plates.

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To confirm the existence of the Deniliquin structure, further evidence and potentially a mega-drilling operation are needed.

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