Most meteors are small, pea-size to walnut-size things that get their brilliance from their enormous speed. Only a few are big enough to reach the earth's surface before they evaporate. Once in a great while, a really big meteor smacks the earth with a vast concussion, digging an "explosion crater" like the one near Canyon Diablo, Ariz. Such craters are rare. Unless the meteor hits in an arid region, its dent is smoothed down quickly (in terms of geological time) by erosion and other natural forces.
The latest Sky and Telescope magazine described a great meteor crater recently identified at Wolf Creek...
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