Scientists made a terrifying new discovery in northeast China. New impact crater, long
hidden from human eyes, has been discovered. What does it reveal about the history of the
earth? How was it formed? To know more about the history of this Mysterious crater, stay
tuned!
Humanity has developed to the point of making new discoveries about planets billions of
years away from us everyday. Yet, Yilan crater in China remained out of sight for centuries
despite being the second largest confirmed impact crater to form on our own planet, Earth in
the last hundred thousand years!
(How caused the crater to form? )
You may think, How did this long hidden crater come into existence? Well it's all because of
those shooting stars you see in the sky. These are the asteroids that collide with our planet
sending huge shock waves on the Earth's surface creating large craters sometimes as wide
as 1 kilometers. Though they may appear a sign of good omen, they sometimes push life on
the planet to the brink of extinction.
(The story of Yilan crater!)
It was the time when humans were migrating to different parts of the world, some 49,500
years ago a 360 feet wide grey coloured asteroid was approaching earth with the velocity of
36,000 miles per hour. The asteroid had a stony composition and was a chondrite, as in to
say a type of asteroid that was formed during the early stages of the universe when particles
of rocks and dust clumped together. As the asteroid was approaching, it was further
accelerated by the gravitational pull of both Earth and Sun increasing its speed further. As it
entered the atmosphere, it rapidly started burning up, losing half of its mass on the way. and
With the great speed the asteroid smashed the surface of northeast China creating a huge
impact, ending millions of animal and insect life in an 8km radius.
(Impacts and aftermath)
The fireball sent from the heavens produced a huge amount of heat that burnt entire
greenlife in a 12km radius. Such a vast destruction, ended in the creation of Yilan crater in
northeastern China that is 1.85 kilometres wide and 150 meters deep. Though, the real
depth of this crater is somewhere around 315 kilometers to 320 kilometers. Researchers
found evidence that the impact of the asteroid was so great, that it might've ruined the entire
vegetation of the area, even as far as 35km.
(Are we sure?)
However scientists have no clue which type of asteroid caused the creation. Researchers
pre assumed it was Chondrite because of its abundance in the solar system. But there is
more… More that will fuel the mystery! There is another crater Xiyuan, located just near the
Yilan crater, which was also formed less than 100,000 years ago. Both of the craters- Yilan
and Xiuyan are formed surprisingly very near to each other and at the same time. Are the
creation of these two craters connected? If so, what was the reason? Was it a good omen of
shooting stars? Or was it… something more sinister? Write down in the comments section
your theories, and for another mind blowing video, watch this:
Click here!