Spectacular landforms are the norm for the floor of Giordano Bruno crater (21-kilometer diameter, 35.969°N, 102.893°E). The curious whorl (left) likely resulted from a landslide into a pool of impact melt, which caused a circular current in the molten rock as it was pushed up and aside. The enormous boulder (upper right) is 130 meters in diameter. Note the striations visible on the sides of this giant boulder. Hop to an oblique view of this same impact melt pool.

The crater's pristine appearance is due to its relatively young age. Age estimates range from about 1000 years ago to 10 million years ago. The most likely estimate is about one million years. Geologists could quickly answer the age question by returning a sample of the impact melt rock for radiometric age dating. Imagine images beamed back to Earth from inside the crater - the walls rise more than 4000 meters (>13,000 feet) from the floor!
Complete NAC image pair M1452055478LR [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University/Intuitive Machines].
Related Featured Images
How Spectacular is this View?!?!
Giordano Bruno, The Big Picture
Very Oblique View of Giordano Bruno
Delicate Patterns in Giordano Bruno Ejecta
Impact Melt Flows on Giordano Bruno
Published by Mark Robinson on 20 January 2025