Edge of that Massive
Impact
Janet Kuypers
3/17/24
Meteors. Givers of life,
As astronomers assumed it was comets
That gave Earth all its water, but lo and
Behold, they were surprised to find just
How water-rich asteroids were too. As
Comets and asteroids
Enter earth’s atmosphere, that’s when
They break down into meteorites and
Larger meteors. These celestial bodies
May give water to start life on Earth, but
Meteors also deliver
Death. Reflect on the meteor smashing
Into Mexico and the Gulf raining ash &
Iridium over the planet — leading to the
Demise of the dinosaurs. But... how many
Giant meteor craters
Are out there really? You can’t see the
Chicxulub crater underwater from that 5-
Mile wide meteor collision; there’s one
In South Africa, one in Australia, one in
Canada that is now
The bed of a lake... But a meteor crater
In the United States? Arizona’s Barringer
Crater, named for the man contradicting
Many eminent scientists of his time, was
Convinced the crater
Was from a large meteor striking earth.
So, let’s actually experience this, let’s
Go to see what kind of destruction one
Of these meteors can really do, see the
Sand melted into glass
From the heat of any massive explosion
By asteroid, meteor, or comet impact.
You can try to buy a piece of this Great
Sand Sea Glass from the tourist shop,
But the real impact
You’ll feel is from when you actually
Stand right there on the edge of that
Massive impact. Span it with your eyes,
For no camera you possess can capture
It all. Then breathe.
We think we humans are so massive &
So important (and in small ways we are),
But look around at the layers of color
Generated by one instantaneous impact.
See for yourself
What the Universe can really do, without
Any help by us quote-unquote “civilized”
Humans. I assume we will be the ultimate
Destroyers of humankind, but nature may
Have a thing or two
To counteract that theory of the importance
Of humankind after all. Study how one
Impact led to a mass extinction on planet
Earth. Then look into craters like this one—
See it, & feel it yourself.
|
