ABC Pilbara

Topic: Scientific Research

Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 9:01 am

The oldest asteroid impact is in Pilbara.

In short:

Scientists found an old asteroid crater in Western Australia.

It is the second time they found the age of the crater.

What's next?

Some scientists do not agree with the findings.

A crater in Australia is 3 billion years old.

The North Pole Dome was a topic of discussion last year.

Scientists used new methods to find the age of the crater.

They used advanced techniques to calculate the time of impact.

Curtin University's Chris Kirkland led the study.

The team looked at the rocks and found special grains.

They dated the grains to find the age of the impact.

A tiny mineral called zircon helped track the time of impact.

Chris Kirkland was the lead author of the study.

Some zircons have unusual shapes.

The team analyzed another mineral to confirm the result.

This method produced the same age.

Academics disagree with the study

Last year, other experts did not agree with the findings.

Alec Brenner from Harvard University disputed the study.

He said the study did not date the crater correctly.

Shatter cones in nearby rocks were 2.77 billion years old.

The impact happened after 2.77 billion years ago.

The new study dismissed this observation.

Tiny zircon crystals were used for the study.

The Pilbara region has a complex history.

Fluid flow events could form zircon.

The lead author worked on other craters with similar events.

Most fluid flow events were not related to impacts.

Crater history in WA

The previous oldest crater was in Yarrabubba.

The North Pole Dome crater is 750 million years older.

Rock formations grew on the asteroid impact.

The rocks tell the story of the planet's past.

It is amazing to learn about an event from 3 billion years ago.

There might be even older craters.

Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 9:01 am

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