- Kebira Crater
__NOTOC__Kebira Crater (
Arabic : فوهة كبيرة) is the name that has recently been proposed for a circular topographic feature in theSahara desert. The center of the feature lies inLibya , but the eastern edge extends intoEgypt . Its discovery from satellite images was announced inMarch 2006 by researchers Dr.Farouk El-Baz and Dr.Eman Ghoneim from the Center forRemote Sensing atBoston University , who propose that it may be an erodedimpact crater (astrobleme ). They suggest that the crater's original appearance has been obscured by wind and watererosion over time. Detailed field work will be required in order to test the impact hypothesis.Characteristics
The feature has two rings, the outer of which is 31
kilometre s (19 mi) in diameter. If it is an impact crater, it is bigger than the largest confirmed impact crater in the region, theOasis crater in Libya, which is approximately half the size, with a diameter of approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi). It is estimated that ameteorite large enough to have created a Kebira sized crater would have been roughly 1 kilometre (0.75 mi) in diameter. As of 2007, the date of the putative impact has not been determined, but it has been speculated that it may be related to the yellow-green silica glass fragments, known as "Libyan Desert glass", that can be found across part of Egypt'sGreat Sand Sea .Etymology
The name of the purported crater is derived from the Arabic word for "large", and also from its location near the
Gilf Kebir ("Great Barrier") region in southwest Egypt.ee also
*
List of impact craters on Earth
*Pit crater External links
News articles
* [http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news/releases/display.php?id=1073 News Release] (
Boston University ,3 March 2006 )
* [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060303_big_crater.html Huge Crater Found in Egypt] (Space.com ,3 March 2006 )
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4779482.stm Huge impact crater found in Egypt] (BBC News ,6 March 2006 )Other
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=egypt&t=h&ll=24.67,24.96&spn=0.246428,0.583649&t=h Google Maps view]
* [http://www.unb.ca/passc/ImpactDatabase/africa.html Earth Impact Database] African impacts page
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