Bruce Murray Space Image Library

Roter Kamm impact crater

Roter Kamm impact crater
Roter Kamm impact crater This radar image shows the Roter Kamm impact crater in southwest Namibia. The 2.5 kilometer-wide (1.6 mile) crater formed when an impactor about the size of an SUV hit the Earth around 5 million years ago. The colors in the image come from different bands of radar used to peer beneath a thick covering of sand to see layers of rock that were ejected during the impact. The image was captured by a radar instrument on the space shuttle Endeavour in 1994. NASA