BRAIN DUMP
SPACE
Why are all Moon craters circular?
Oliver Bentley
■ It’s not just Moon craters that are round in shape, meteorite impact craters are almost always round on any planet they hit, despite hitting the surface at a variety of angles. This is because the physical shape of the impactor and the angle of its approach have a fraction of the influence on the crater’s shape compared to the enormous kinetic energy released by the impact. You might get an elongated crater if the impactor came in at an extremely shallow angle, grazing the surface and releasing its impact energy in a long shape instead of at a single point. But these are very rare. BB
