Mjølnir crater

Coordinates: 73°48′N 29°40′E / 73.8°N 29.667°E / 73.8; 29.667

Mjølnir is a meteorite crater on the floor of Barents Sea off the coast of Norway.^[1]

It is 40 km (25 mi) in diameter and the age is estimated to be 142.0 ± 2.6 million years (Lower Cretaceous). The bolide was an estimated 2 km (1.2 mi) wide.

Mjølnir is the name of Thor's mythological hammer. Giving the crater this name was presumably an allusion to the power of the weapon, which is often described as breaking and smashing rocks.

In 2006, a group of Swedish geologists discovered indications of a tsunami floodig the Swedish southern coast at about 145 million years ago. It is speculated^[2] to be associated with the Mjølnir impact, together with similar indications discovered 2000 in France.

References

1. ^ "Mjølnir". Earth Impact Database. University of New Brunswick. http://www.passc.net/EarthImpactDatabase/mjolnir.html. Retrieved 2008-12-30. 
2. ^ http://www.fof.se/tidning/2006/6/tsunami-drabbade-skane

External links

• Earth Impact Database
• Mjølnir impact crater homepage