a 400 kilometre-wide impact zone from a huge
1 that broke in two moments before it slammed into the earth has been found in central australia. the
2 from the impact millions of years ago has long disappeared. but a team of geophysicists has found the twin scars of the impacts -- the largest impact zone ever found on earth -- hidden deep in the earth's crust.
lead researcher dr andrew glikson from the anu school of
3 and
4 said the impact zone was discovered during drilling as part of geothermal research, in an area near the borders of south australia, queensland and the northern territory.
"the two
5 must each have been over 10 kilometres across -- it would have been curtains for many life species on the planet at the time," said dr glikson.
the revelation of such ancient violent impacts may lead to new theories about the earth's history.
"large impacts like these may have had a far more significant role in the earth's evolution than
6 thought," dr glikson said.
the exact date of the impacts
7 unclear. the surrounding rocks are 300 to 600 million years old, but evidence of the type left by other meteorite strikes is lacking.
for example, a large meteorite strike 66 million years ago sent up a
8 of ash which is found as a layer of
9 in rocks around the world. the plume is thought to have led to the
10 of a large proportion of the life on the planet, including many
11 species.
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