Spider Crater was imaged in 2026

The Landsat 9 date was 2026-09-20, and the Operational Land Imager captured an image of Spider Crater in Western Australia's Kimberley region. Impact Earth and Lunar and Planetary Institute items were dated 2026-10-08.

Spider Crater was located in Western Australia's Kimberley region and was classified as a meteorite impact.

The Operational Land Imager was identified as the image-capturing instrument, and Landsat 9 was listed with a NASA-USGS relation.

NASA Earth Observatory listed the image by Michala Garrison and the story by Lindsey Doermann. It was also linked to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The crater was oval and measured 13 by 11 kilometers, or 8 by 7 miles. Its central portion was given as 4 kilometers.

The structure included a central uplift and sandstone ridges that endured.

Geologists found shatter cones that were ubiquitous in Spider Crater's central dome, and shatter cones form only when intense shock waves travel through rock. Scientists conducted lab analyses of shocked quartz and zircon crystals, which can reconstruct the angle of the meteorite impact.

The crater's age was given as 900,000,000 to 600,000,000 years ago, in the late Precambrian. Its formation was debated, with a volcanic past noted and another explanation saying it formed in rebound from the initial impact shock.

The facts show a verification chain: an instrument image, field evidence of shatter cones, and lab work on shocked quartz and zircon crystals. For readers tracking the lunar industry, that chain matters because impact identification and reconstruction are key to interpreting cratered surfaces.