Mjølnir crater

Meteorite crater in the Barents Sea
73°48′N 29°40′E / 73.800°N 29.667°E / 73.800; 29.667CountryNorway

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 (Early Cretaceous). The bolide was an estimated 2 km (1.2 mi) wide.

Etymology

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.

Description

In 2006, a group of Swedish geologists discovered indications of a tsunami flooding 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 in 2000 in France.

References

  1. ^ "Mjølnir". Earth Impact Database. Planetary and Space Science Centre University of New Brunswick Fredericton. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  2. ^ Tsunami drabbade Skane

External links

  • Mjølnir at Earth Impact Database
  • Mjølnir impact crater homepage - archived from the original on August 18, 2017.
  • v
  • t
  • e
  • Impact crater
  • Impact event
Lists

Confirmed
≥20 km diameterTopicsResearch


Stub icon

This Arctic-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e
Stub icon

This Norway location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e
Stub icon

This article about an impact crater on Earth is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e