In the northeast of China, a mountain called Baijifeng has a unique and intriguing feature: it was split in half by a meteorite impact millions of years ago.
Scientists at the Advanced Research Center for High-Pressure Science and Technology in Shanghai carried out an investigation that revealed surprising details about the case.
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The crater
(Image: Chen et al., magazine Matter and Radiation at Extremes/Reproduction)
Located in Jilin province, close to the border with North Korea, the crater resulting from the impact is about 1.6 km wide and created two peaks known as Baijifeng Frontal and Baijifeng Rear.
Until recently, China had recorded little evidence of vehicle collisions. meteorites in its territory, compared to other parts of the world.
However, rock fragments locally called “heavenly stones” on Baijifeng Mountain aroused researchers' curiosity.
The team, led by Ming Chen and Ho-Kwang Mao, carried out detailed analyzes of these rock fragments, which consist of sandstone and granite containing small quartz minerals.
The quartz showed characteristic deformations caused by the heat and pressure coming from the meteorite's impact with the ground.
Theories
Such deformations are recognized by many as evidence of shock metamorphism and terrestrial impact, becoming a crucial element to identify the location of the collision of the “stone heavenly".
According to researchers, the meteorite strike would have excavated and ejected a large amount of rock, creating the geological structure we know today as Baijifeng Mountain. This resulted in the formation of two distinct peaks.
The exact age of this event still remains uncertain, but scientists estimate that the granite present in the crater was formed between 150 and 172 million years ago, during the Jurassic period.
A comparison with another Chinese impact crater, Yilan in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, formed about 49,000 years ago, suggests that the strike that split Baijifeng Mountain must not be much older recent.
However, scientists emphasize that additional studies are needed to accurately determine the date of the shock responsible for the division of Baijifeng and understand the geological history behind this place unusual.