Spider Crater in Australia captured by NASA satellite

NASA has released new satellite imagery from the Landsat 9, capturing the unique Spider Crater in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The structure, measuring approximately 13 by 11 kilometers, features a central 4-kilometer core with radial sandstone ridges that resemble the legs of a spider.

Geologists have determined that the formation is the result of a meteorite impact rather than volcanic activity, a theory supported by the discovery of shatter cones and microscopic deformations in quartz and zircon crystals. The spider-like appearance is attributed to a central uplift caused by the impact's rebound, with erosion over hundreds of millions of years stripping away softer rock to leave the more resistant sandstone ridges exposed.

While the exact age of the crater remains undetermined, scientific estimates place the impact between 600 and 900 million years ago during the late Proterozoic era.