In 1931, the cluster of craters at Henbury Cattle Station south of Alice Springs in Central Australia was one of the first places on Earth where a group of impact structures could definitely be linked to the fall of iron meteorites. It was also the first place where radial rays and loops of ejected rock material, comparable to those seen around craters on the Moon, were observed. As such it was one of the primary observation sites associated with the science of meteoritics in its infancy. In this work the authors present previously unpublished documents covering early research at the Henbury site, provide an extended data set on the distribution of meteoritic material at Henbury craters, and compare recent discoveries on the mechanics of hypervelocity impacts with evidence collected over 80 years of research at the Henbury meteorite craters. In their conclusion, the authors suggest a new hypothesis for the fragmentation and incident direction of the crater-forming bolide, on the basis of a more complete set of data compared with previous models.

A group of small craters that exhibit an unusually wide variety of structural features.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The essential guide to 139 sites where the Earth has had a direct hit from space.