with the collision scattering debris across the planet. Despite its global impact, however, the event was not merely a destructive force, according to Kirkland. The crater it left behind may have ...

which used to be an ancient crater lake that has long since dried up. Finding more of the most ancient craters on Earth might tell us something about Archaean remnants beyond our planet.

The discovery of a massive crater formed by the impact of a meteorite more than three billion years ago is changing the way scientists view the history of Earth and the planet's stages of evolution.