Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve
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Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The reserve is located 145 kilometres south west of Alice Springs and contains twelve craters, which were formed when a meteor hit the earth’s surface.
Henbury is one of five meteor impact sites in Australia associated with actual meteorite fragments and one of the world's best preserved examples of a small crater field.[1] At Henbury there are 13 to 14 craters ranging from 7 to 180 metres in diameter and up to 15 metres in depth that were formed when the meteor broke up before impact. Several tonnes of iron-nickel fragments have been recovered from the site. The site has been dated to 4.2±1.9 thousand years ago based on the cosmogenic 14C terrestrial age of the meteorite.[2]
The craters were discovered in 1899 by the manager of Henbury Station, then went uninvestigated until interest was stirred when the Karoonda meteorite fell on South Australia in 1930.[3] The Meteorite Craters at Henbury Central Australia by A.R. Alderman was published in 1932 detailing the scientific investigations of the site. Numerous studies have been undertaken since.
[edit] References
- ^ Haines P.W. 2005. Impact cratering and distal ejecta: the Australian record. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 52:481–507. Abstract
- ^ Kohman T. P. and Goel P.S. 1963. Terrestrial ages of meteorites from cosmogenic 14C. In: Radioactive Dating, p. 395–311. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.
- ^ Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve Draft Plan of Management 2002. Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory. ISBN 0-7245-2765-6
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