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[deleted] t1_j96kl15 wrote

Reply to comment by Itis_TheStranger in This image of Mars shows the north polar ice cap, the border between highlands and lowlands, former river valleys, plains covered by dark sands and the large Hellas Planitia impact basin in the south. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin by MistWeaver80

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kerfitten1234 t1_j96viy6 wrote

No, it's because of erosion and the fact that earth is tectonically active. Any meteor large enough to leave a decent crater isn't going to be stopped by an atmosphere.

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[deleted] t1_j96z3xq wrote

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kerfitten1234 t1_j970pm4 wrote

Lol, your source is an opinion piece meant for kids.

https://www.britannica.com/science/meteorite-crater/The-impact-cratering-process

>Earth’s atmosphere certainly slows and prevents typical asteroidal fragments up to a few tens of metres across from reaching the surface and forming a true hypervelocity impact crater, but kilometre-scale objects of the kind that created the smallest telescopically visible craters on the Moon are not significantly slowed by Earth’s atmosphere...

The atmosphere shielding the surface is not the reason for that lack of craters on earth.

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Itis_TheStranger t1_j96l9zk wrote

Thanks for that explanation. I kinda figured it had something to do with the atmosphere. I know there are some impact craters on earth, but they are usually larger.

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