Asteroids are small celestial bodies that orbit the sun. They are found between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. They divide the 9 planets into inner planets and outer planets. These asteroids usually orbit the sun in a proper path but due to certain chemical changes in space or various other reasons, they may get of their path and may hit any planets that come in the way with a lot of force, ultimately causing major destruction. There have been asteroid hits on our planet i.e. Planet Earth as well. A lot of them caused destruction while some didn’t have enormous impact on the earth. Asteroids hits are in the form of  meteor showers or burning up of the asteroids in the atmosphere or the deadliest form wherein they hit the earth. Asteroids that hit the earth have resulted in creating very wide and deep craters across many different places in the world. Below are the 10 biggest asteroid hits on the earth and their impacts.(This information will help you to understand the figures better; 1 billion=100 crores; 1 million=10 lakhs)

10.2 billion years ago

2 billion years ago, an asteroid struck South Africa. It lead to the formation of a crater known as the Vredefort Crater. The crater has an estimated radius 118 miles(190 kilometers) of land. It is one of the largest craters and the largest known impact structure created by an asteroid hit. It is declared as the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

9.1.8 billion years ago

There is a huge crater found in the Sudbury Basin in Ontario, Canada. This crater was a result of the impact caused by the asteroid that hit the Sudbury Basin 1.8 billion years ago. The crater has a diameter of 81 miles(130 kilometers). It is one of the oldest structures created as a result of an asteroid hit.

8.580 million years ago

The asteroid hit 580 million years ago happened in Australia. It created a crater in the Lake Acraman located in West Australia. And hence the crater came to be known as the Acraman Crater. The diameter of the crater comes to 56 miles(90 kilometers).

7.65 million years ago

65 million years ago, a 10 kilometer asteroid struck the earth near the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The crater was called as the Chicxulub crater. The diameter of this crater is around 186 miles(300 kilometers).The crater was discovered by Antonio Camargo and Glen Penfield. This asteroid hit stirred up a global firestorm wiping off the dinosaurs off the face of the earth. This asteroid hit was the reason for the extinction of dinosaurs.

6.3.3 Million years ago

3.3 million years ago, an asteroid hit Argentina. There was a global cooling trend after the hit. In 1998, Peter Schultz, a Geology professor in the Brown University, found some useful information about the impact of this asteroid hit. He found greenish glass like pieces in the area of the hit. After subsequent research, it was discovered that 36 species of the local animals had gone extinct after the attack.

5.50,000 years ago

There was an asteroid hit 50,000 years ago. It created a crater in Arizona. The crater is called the Barringer Meteorite crater. The crater spreads across 1.2 kilometers of land. The site was formerly known as Canyon Diablo Crater. It was declared as the National Natural Landmark in November 1967.

4.1490

In 1490, 10,ooo people died of an asteroid hit in China. The asteroid hit the Chinese city of Ching Yang. It was a meteor shower. The asteroids were disintegrating due to atmospheric entry air burst.

3.1908

In 1908 there was an asteroid hit in Russia. The asteroid exploded over the Tunguska region in Siberia. It struck near the river Podkamennaya Tunguska river. Since the 1908 explosion, there have been an estimated 1,000 scholarly papers (mainly in Russian) published on the Tunguska explosion. Many scientists have participated in Tunguska studies This explosion wiped out trees spread over a distance of 2000 kilometers. A huge chunk of plants and animals living in the 2000 km stretch of forests came to be wiped out too. A large number of reindeers succumbed too. But,  the asteroid hit didn’t claim any human lives.

2.2008

This asteroid that came hurling towards the earth in 2008 was called as the 2008TC3. This asteroid burned up as it made an entry into the earth’s atmosphere. It started burning up and then finally disintegrated when it was over the Sudan region. Fragments of the asteroid were found fallen in the desert areas around the Sudan. The asteroid hit didn’t cause any destruction luckily.

1.2014

The most recent asteroid came towards the earth on the 31st December 2013. The name of the asteroid was 2014AA. It was spotted through the Mt. Lemmon Survey Telescope. It was seen approaching Arizona. The asteroid was as big as a couch as described by an astronomer who spotted it in the air. Again, this one burned up on making an entry in the earth’s atmosphere. It disintegrated in mid-air. And this disintegration made for a spectacular sight for people who saw it just after new years eve while we stepped into the new year 2014. This one didn’t cause destruction.