NASA's Landsat 9 satellite has imaged Spider Crater, a unique geologic impact structure in Australia's Kimberley region featuring a distinct, spider-like central uplift.

The NASA-USGS Landsat 9 satellite captured an image of the Spider Crater in Western Australia on September 20, 2026. This geologic feature, located in the country’s Kimberley region, is the result of a meteorite impact followed by hundreds of millions of years of erosion. The crater is characterized by an unusual arachnoid pattern that geologists identify as a central uplift, which formed during the rebound of the initial impact shock.

Structure and Formation

The full impact structure spans an oval area measuring approximately 13 kilometers by 11 kilometers (8 miles by 7 miles). Its central, spider-like portion measures about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) across. The light-colored 'legs' of the structure are composed of sandstone ridges that have persisted while surrounding rock layers eroded away. Scientists believe these ridges are the remnants of a central uplift created by the intense shock waves of the original impact.

Scientific Confirmation of Impact

While early theories suggested a potential volcanic origin for the feature, field research eventually confirmed its status as an impact site. Geologists discovered shatter cones—fan-shaped fractures that form only when intense shock waves travel through rock—throughout the central dome. Further laboratory analysis of shocked quartz and zircon crystals from the site has allowed researchers to study the impact's characteristics. Estimates based on regional rock samples suggest the impact occurred between 900 million and 600 million years ago, during the late Precambrian.