Scientists find giant meteor crater that spread rocky debris across half the planet just 800,000 years ago

  • Researchers say the crater is 8 miles wide, 11 miles long and over 300ft thick 
  • It has been found in the lava fields on the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos
  • The meteor was known about for more than a century but not where it landed
  • Experts used searched for differences in rock density to find the crater location

By RYAN MORRISON FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

A crater left by a giant meteor that crashed into the Earth 800,000 years ago - spreading rocky debris across the planet - is finally found by scientists.  

The meteor impact has been known about for more than a century but the location has been a mystery, the team from Singapore said.

Researchers from Nanyang Technical University in Singapore claim it was buried under volcanic lava on the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos.

The team created a 'gravity map' of the area and discovered an 'elongated crater' under the rock that was about 300ft thick, 8 miles wide and 11 miles long.

A crater left by a giant meteor that crashed into the Earth 800,000 years ago - spreading rocky debris across the planet - is finally found by scientists

A crater left by a giant meteor that crashed into the Earth 800,000 years ago - spreading rocky debris across the planet - is finally found by scientists

Researchers investigated several volcanic lava fields as part of the study. The one in southern Laos was the best match in terms of age and that is where they found the possible crater

Researchers investigated several volcanic lava fields as part of the study. The one in southern Laos was the best match in terms of age and that is where they found the possible crater

Discovering the location of the crater could help to predict what we might expect if a similarly large asteroid were to hit again, says Kerry Sieh, study author. 

The team haven't physically seen the crater - which was likely buried tens of thousands of years ago - but say there is strong evidence that this is the correct location. 

Scientists were aware of the impact thanks to millions of tiny glassy blobs of melted rock from the same period that have been found all over the world. 

These lumps of rocky debris called 'tektites' have been found from China to eastern Antarctica and from the Indian to Pacific ocean and would have been thrown up by a massive meteor impact somewhere - likely in Indochina.

The research team say experts have known about this crash for more than a century and have been trying to identify the impact site for as long. 

Researchers from Nanyang Technical University in Singapore claim it was buried under volcanic lava on the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos

Researchers from Nanyang Technical University in Singapore claim it was buried under volcanic lava on the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos

'The large crater from which these tektites originated has eluded discovery for over a century, although evidence has long pointed to a location somewhere within Indochina', said Sieh.

Most of the largest space rocks to have hit the Earth did so such a long time ago that their craters have almost gone thanks to erosion. 

However, Sieh says this impact was unusual as it was huge and recent, meaning the site it hit should be identifiable. 

The Singapore study started with the possibility of erosion destroying the crater, but the team soon realised it was likely buried rather than eroded due to its age.

They investigated the possibility that the crater had been buried by volcanic lava that then hardened over it - searching possible sites in Asia.

Scientists were aware of the impact thanks to millions of tiny glassy blobs of melted rock from the same period found all over the world

Scientists were aware of the impact thanks to millions of tiny glassy blobs of melted rock from the same period found all over the world

This theory led the team to the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos where there is a volcanic lava field that had lava flows from between 51,000 and 780,000 years ago.

They took gravity readings from 400 different locations surrounding the field and used the information to produce a map of the area.

The gravity readings help to detect differences in rock density from one area to another - which could identify a crater. 

They found a 'gravitational anomaly' within the area that led them to believe it was the site of the 11 mile long impact site.

The team now plan to focus on the ashy material that surrounds the meteor debris they've discovered. 

Sieh said the impact would have 'incinerated all life within 300 miles'. 

He wants to know how that kind of settling dust would impact humanity today. 

The findings have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Explained: The difference between an asteroid, meteorite and other space rocks

An asteroid is a large chunk of rock left over from collisions or the early solar system. Most are located between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Belt.

A comet is a rock covered in ice, methane and other compounds. Their orbits take them much further out of the solar system.

A meteor is what astronomers call a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns up.

This debris itself is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small they are vapourised in the atmosphere.

If any of this meteoroid makes it to Earth, it is called a meteorite.

Meteors, meteoroids and meteorites normally originate from asteroids and comets.

For example, if Earth passes through the tail of a comet, much of the debris burns up in the atmosphere, forming a meteor shower.

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