An ancient Earth impact could help in the search for Martian life

Strange cone-shaped rocks are remnants of one of Earth's earliest impact craters

Close-up view of a reddish, cone-shaped rock with deep, radiating grooves etched into its surface, set against a black background.

Craters on Earth are no longer visible for asteroid impacts that happened over a billion years ago. But some are marked by “shatter cones” (one shown), formed as a shock wave penetrated deep into the ground, fracturing everything in its path.

Alec Brenner/Harvard University

In a remote desert, scientists have discovered one of Earth’s oldest asteroid impacts.