SENZA SOGGETTO
Stato: Germany Anno: 1998 Notizie: About 15 million years ago a giant impactor between half a kilometer and a kilometer in diameter struck the Earth in what is today Bavaria, Germany. The impactor hit at about a speed of 25 km/sec, forming the 22 to 24 km wide Ries crater. Almost 3.5 cubic kilometers of rock evaporated, 2 cubic kilometers of rock melted, and 31.2 cubic kilometers of rock were ejected as far away as 40 kilometers. The resulting crater was about 240 meters deep. The local rocks melted and fused with portions of the impactor to form an impact breccia called Suevite. Suevite resembles the regolith covering the lunar surface. The smaller Steinheim crater (about 2.5 km in diameter) was formed at the same time as the Ries. The Ries impact event may also be the source of the tektites called Moldavites which are found in the southern Czech Republic. The Apollo 14 astronauts trained at the Ries crater because of its similarity to lunar craters. The town of Nördlingen lies within the confines of the ancient impact crater. Townsfolk used impact breccia to construct St. Georg's Church. This church may be the largest structure in the world composed of impact material. In 1998 Germany issued a stamp commemorating the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of Nördlingen. The stamp shows St. Georg's church with its famous "Daniel" tower, as well as portions of the surrounding town. |
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