Målingen was confirmed as an
impact crater
An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact crater ...
in 2014. It is located near the city of
Östersund
Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön, ...
in northern
Sweden.
It is "probable" that it formed simultaneously with the nearby
Lockne crater.
[Raul Rincon (2014)]
BBC News: "Ancient Earth hammered by double space impact", 18 March 2014
accessed 19 March 2014. Computer simulations suggest the
asteroid pieces that created the Lockne and Målingen craters were some 600 meters and 250 meters in diameter, respectively.
[
Målingen is 1 km in diameter and its age is estimated, using chitinozoan ]microfossil
A microfossil is a fossil that is generally between 0.001 mm and 1 mm in size, the visual study of which requires the use of light or electron microscopy. A fossil which can be studied with the naked eye or low-powered magnification, ...
s, which were also found in Lockne, to be 458 million years (Late Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya.
...
).
References
Impact craters of Sweden
Ordovician impact craters
Ordovician Sweden
Sandbian
Landforms of Jämtland County
{{Jämtland-geo-stub