Core Viewpoint - The Jinlin meteorite crater in Deqing County, Guangdong, has been confirmed as the largest Holocene meteorite crater on Earth, indicating the occurrence of the most significant extraterrestrial impact event during this period [1][2]. Group 1: Meteorite Crater Characteristics - The Jinlin meteorite crater is located in a low mountainous area near Jinlin Water Town, with an elliptical bowl shape, measuring approximately 900 meters in diameter (northeast-southwest) and 820 meters (northwest-southeast), and a depth of about 90 meters [2]. - The impact event is estimated to have occurred in the early to mid-Holocene, making it a relatively young impact structure, with the energy equivalent to 600,000 tons of TNT [2]. Group 2: Scientific Significance - This crater is the fifth confirmed meteorite crater in China and the first in southern China, which is significant due to the region's strong chemical and biological weathering that has historically hindered the discovery of such structures [2]. - The findings provide important insights for global meteorite crater research, particularly in tropical and subtropical humid regions, expanding the spatial distribution data of extraterrestrial impact events [3].
正式确认！ 广东金林陨石坑为万年来世界最大规模小天体撞击形成
Xin Hua She·2025-10-23 08:56