We’re used to a lot of different natural things falling out of the sky. These can include snow, rain, and sometimes even frogs (yes, really). All of these relate to weather phenomena.

Far more exotic things fall from the sky that are not related to weather. Earth is pelted by about 14 tons of micrometeorites each day. And larger meteorite falls also happen daily, which are visible as fireballs that streak across the night sky.

When an asteroid collides with Earth, it can trigger even stranger debris. Tektites are glassy droplets that form by melting during a meteorite impact, and are then ejected hundreds to thousands of kilometres away from the impact site. The Australasian tektite field that formed some 790,000 years ago from an unknown impact and might cover 10–30% of Earth’s surface is the most famous example.

In a new study published in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science, we describe the discovery of a previously unknown 4km-diameter meteorite impact crater in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.

A gold band points the way

The impact site is near the town of Ora Banda (Spanish for “gold band”), a historic gold mining district about 50km north of Kalgoorlie.

For now we’ve named the site the “Ora Banda impact structure”, given its proximity to the historic mining district. However, the region has a much longer history of First Nations culture, and we’re currently........

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