From the March 2011 issue

Earth as a target

Evidence of impacts is evident all over Earth’s surface.
By | Published: March 28, 2011 | Last updated on May 18, 2023

Impact-crater
About 50,000 years ago, an asteroid impacted Earth’s surface and created Barringer Crater (also known as Meteor Crater) in northern Arizona. It dug out a hole nearly a mile wide. Peter Kresan

Earth has been hit by asteroids and comets in the past — our planet’s surface is riddled with the evidence. A few years ago, we published an article that described many impact craters. You can download this article, “Earth under fire.”