Impact glasses

Impact glasses are natural glassy materials formed when a cosmic body impacts the Earth's surface. The extreme pressure and temperature generated during the impact can melt rocks at the impact site within a very short time. The molten material then cools rapidly and forms natural glass.

In this category you will find impact glasses that are not classified as classic tektites. Individual types differ in their place of origin, age, chemical composition, colour and structure. These include, for example, Libyan Desert Glass, Darwin Glass, atacamaites, irghizites and impact glass from the Lonar crater.

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How are impact glasses formed?

When a meteorite or another cosmic body strikes the Earth's surface with sufficient energy, the extreme heat generated by the impact causes surface rocks to melt. Part of the resulting melt may be ejected into the surrounding area and solidify into glass as it cools rapidly.

The appearance of the resulting material depends on the composition of the original rocks as well as the conditions of the particular impact. Impact glasses can therefore vary greatly in appearance – from almost black glassy specimens to light yellow and translucent pieces.

Tektites and impact glasses are not the same

Tektites and impact glasses are both formed during impacts of cosmic bodies, but they differ in the way they form and in where the resulting material is deposited. Tektites originate from terrestrial rocks that are melted during a major impact, ejected high into the atmosphere and often transported hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from the impact site. During flight, they may acquire aerodynamic shapes before falling over extensive strewn fields. Impact glasses, on the other hand, form primarily by melting rocks directly at the impact site or in its immediate vicinity and generally remain geographically associated with a particular impact structure or area.