Australian astronomer uses ancient culture, Google maps to identify crater

SYDNEY, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- An Australian astronomer has used ancient culture and modern technology to identify a meteorite crater in central Australia.

Macquarie University PHD candidate Duane Hamacher said on Monday he had spent the past 18 months researching how Aboriginal people have incorporated the night sky into their culture.

He used an Arrernte dreaming story and Google maps to find a crater at Palm Valley, west of Alice Springs, which had been unknown to geologists.

"The particular Western Arrernte story talked about a star that fell from the sky, making a noise like thunder and crashed into a waterhole in Palm Valley," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"What I decided to do was look on Google Earth, Google Maps and check that area out and see if there was any impact crater that could be seen.

"There happened to be a giant bowl-shaped structure right smack in the middle of Palm Valley that looked just like a meteorite crater."

Hamacher said he is writing a paper on the data he has collected from the site and that he hopes to publish it in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science early next year.