# NASA spots ancient Australian crater with 'legs'

> NASA satellite reveals 3 billion-year-old impact crater in Australia with spider-like features.
- Title: NASA spots ancient Australian crater with 'legs' · Dailymail
- Summary: NASA satellite reveals 3 billion-year-old impact crater in Australia with spider-like features. NASA discovered a 3.02 billion-year-old meteorite impact…
- Keywords: nasa, spider crater, impact crater, western australia, meteorite, 3.02 billion years, pilbara region, zircon crystals, shock waves, shatter cones, news, entertainment
- Source: Dailymail — https://dailymail.com/sciencetech/article-16209397/nasa-spider-crater-impact-australia.html?ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490&ns_mchannel=rss
- Published: 2026-10-14T17:17:36+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: nasa, spider crater, impact crater, western australia, meteorite, 3.02 billion years, pilbara region, zircon crystals, shock waves, shatter cones, news, entertainment
## NASA satellite image
NASA's Landsat 9 captured an impact structure with legs in Western Australia's Kimberley region.
## Spider Crater description
The oval-shaped crater measures eight by seven miles with a spiderlike central portion 2.5 miles across.
## Age of impact
Scientists estimate the collision formed between 600 million and 900 million years ago.
## Discovery history
The crater baffled scientists for years after its 1950s discovery until 1970s evidence emerged.
## Geological evidence
Geologists found shatter cones and fractured rock layers indicating meteorite impact.
## Zircon evidence
Zircon crystals show impact occurred 3.02 billion years ago with skeletal shapes.
## Impact significance
The impact may have influenced early Earth's chemical exchange and microbial environments.
## Oldest crater
North Pole Dome is Earth's oldest confirmed impact crater at 3.02 billion years.
## Impact size
The meteorite was likely a kilometre-scale object with unknown precise size.
## What happens next
Scientists continue studying the crater to understand early Earth's geological history.
## Key takeaway

NASA discovered a 3.02 billion-year-old meteorite impact crater in Western Australia with spider-like formations, providing evidence of early Earth's geological activity.