Meteor Impact Simulation - Meteor Crater, Arizona

Computer simulation of the Meteor Crater impact in Arizona that occurred about 50,000 years ago. In the simulation an iron meteor 50 m (164 ft) wide impacts at 45 deg and 12 km/s (27,000 mph). The initial meteor is modeled as a sphere and the ground is a 2.5 km ( mi) long rectangular block. The simulation shows a cross-section of the ground for the first 0.7 sec after impact. Colors in the animation show material density: red is high density iron, gray is the initial ground density, and blue is low-density ground material as it is ejected. The particles shown in the animation represent the material itself, with more particle resolution at the point of impact. Particle motion is simulated using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method including high-energy equations of state and material strength. As the meteor impacts it flattens out and forms a small crater. As the crater grows the meteor material spreads out along the bottom of the crater, the upper-ground material is ejected, and the lower-ground material is pushed downward to form the larger crater. This process continues for the duration of the simulation, 0.7 sec in real time. The simulation is stopped before the process is complete because shockwaves from the initial impact reflect off the outer ground boundary back into the problem and begin to influence the crater formation. The actual width of Meteor Crater in Arizona is about twice the size of the crater shown at the final simulated time.