Canadian amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe discovered a 25km-wide meteorite impact crater named Uhackatik in Quebec's Côte-Nord region using Google Maps. Geologists confirmed the 390-million-year-old structure following an expedition in October 2025.
Amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe discovered a 390-million-year-old meteorite impact crater in a remote part of Quebec using Google Maps. Initially skeptical, scientists, including Gordon Osinski of Western University, confirmed the discovery through an expedition, finding shatter cones and impact melt rock. The crater, named Uhackatik in collaboration with the Ekuanitshit Innu council, is a significant find for Canadian earth science.
A new study has identified the North Pole Dome in Western Australia as Earth's oldest known impact crater, dating the asteroid collision to approximately three billion years ago. Researchers used zircon and apatite minerals to precisely date the ancient structure, providing a rare window into the Archean eon.
Scientists have identified the world's oldest impact crater in Australia's Pilbara region, dating back 3 billion years. Analysis of zircon and apatite minerals in ancient rocks at the North Pole Dome crater provided evidence of a meteorite strike during the Archean eon, offering insights into early Earth.
