In Australia, scientists have identified the oldest known meteorite impact crater on Earth, a discovery that could greatly reshape the understanding of the planet’s formation and the origins of life.

Curtin University researchers investigated rock layers in the North Pole Dome, an area of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, and found evidence of a major meteorite impact 3.5 billion years ago. Before the discovery, the oldest impact crater was 2.2 billion years old, so this is by far the oldest known crater ever found on Earth.

Researchers identified the crater through the presence of shatter cones, unique rock formations created under the extreme pressure of a meteorite impact. These formations found about 40 km west of Marble Bar in the Pilbara region, were formed when a meteorite struck the area at over 36,000 km per hour.

An impact crater is a depression formed on the surface of a solid astronomical body (like a planet or moon) when a smaller object (like a meteoroid, asteroid, or comet) collides with it at high velocity.