Popigai is one of the largest and most well-preserved impact craters on Earth. The “young” and well-preserved crater helps scientists understand cratering processes on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system. The Namib Desert bears a scar from a meteorite impact.
On the Moon, in contrast, we see primarily craters, produced by an external force—the impacts of interplanetary debris such as asteroids and comets. Why don’t we see more evidence on Earth of the kinds of impact craters that are so prominent on the Moon and other worlds?
The Moon is pockmarked with impact craters. Everywhere you look, you can see a crater. On Earth, however, impact craters are few and far between, with barely any visible. Why do we see so many craters on the Moon but so few on Earth?
Where Are All the Impact Craters on Earth? - National Air and Space Museum
Complex craters on Earth first occur at diameters greater than 2 km in layered sedimentary target rocks but not until diameters of 4 km or greater in stronger, more coherent, igneous or metamorphic, crystalline target rocks (Dence 1972).
Earth impact craters are unique tourist destinations. Here are some striking craters you can visit in person or from the comfort of your home with Google Earth.
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. Similar in size and mass to Earth, Venus has no liquid water, and its atmosphere is far thicker and denser than that of any other rocky body in the Solar System. The atmosphere is composed mostly of carbon dioxide and has a thick cloud layer of sulfuric acid that spans the whole planet.