Pristine impact crater discovered in the Egyptian dessert
July 26th, 2010 - 8:06 pm ICT by Aishwarya BhattCairo, July 26 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Scientists announced on Thursday that they have discovered what may be the best-preserved small impact crater that has ever been seen. The crater was discovered in a remote Egyptian desert.
Kamil is the name given to the crater and scientists who discovered the crater said it is the best-preserved pristine impact crater that they have discovered. Scientists say the Kamil is so well preserved that they can even see the rays of the removed material where the meteorite impacted on it.
Scientists are so amazed at the way the crater was preserved that they compare it with those found on the moon and Mars. It is very rare to discover well-preserved meteorites on earth because of environmental and atmospheric activities. Most of these activities destroy the craters.
Scientists say based on Kamil’s characteristics, they believe it was created by an iron meteorite that struck the earth at a speed of 11,732 kph. It is estimated that the meteorite was at least 1.3 meters in diameter. The impact created a 45 meters wide Kamil crater.
Scientists first discovered the crater on Google Earth satellite pictures. The team led by Luigi Foldo descended on Egypt in February 2010.
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Tags: cairo, craters, dessert, diameter, earth satellite, egypt, egyptian desert, google, impact crater, iron meteorite, kamil, meteorites, moon, satellite pictures, scientists