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			Photo #: ISS007-E-5697 Date: May 2003 Geographic Region: AUSTRALIA-NT Feature: GOSSES BLUFF IMPACT CRATER



	Impact craters, like those we observe on the moon, also occur on Earth. They result from the collisions of extraterrestrial bodies (like meteorites, asteroids or comets) with the Earth. Planetary scientists study Earth's impact craters to gain insight about the early history of the Earth and the Solar System. Recent studies indicate that large impacts on Earth may have played an important role in the succession of life on Earth. Australia is a very good place to observe and study impact craters. Much of the Australian surface is very old, so Australia has collected more impacts than many other parts of the world. Because of the dry climate, the craters haven't weathered away, nor are they hidden by dense vegetation. This image shows Gosses Bluff, an impact crater sandwiched between the Macdonnell Range to the north and the James Range to the south in Australia's Northern Territory--it is about 160 km west of Alice Springs. It is one of the most studied of the Australian impact craters. The impactor, an asteroid or comet, was probably about 1 km in diameter and crashed into the earth about 142 million years ago. The isolated circular feature within the crater consists of a central ring of hills about 4.5 km in diameter. The grayish feature surrounding the inner ring probably marks the original boundary of the outer rim.

Images:	All Available Images Low-Resolution 55k
Mission:	ISS007
Roll - Frame:	E - 5697
Geographical Name:	AUSTRALIA-NT
Features:	GOSSES BLUFF IMPACT CRATER
Center Lat x Lon:	24S x 132.5E
Film Exposure:		N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP:	10
Camera:	E4
Camera Tilt:	30	LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length:	180
Nadir to Photo Center Direction:	SW	The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:		Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:	1675
Date:	20030520	YYYYMMDD
Time:	225637	GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat:	22.8S	Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon:	134.1E	Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth:	59	Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude:	211	nautical miles
Sun Elevation:	17	Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:	CRATER, RANGE
Water Views:
Atmosphere Views:
Man Made Views:
City Views:

Photo is not associated with any sequences

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