Soon,AU to get library to store asteroid bits of Dhala impact site

The samples,called lithologs,will be preserved in specially designed boxes for research purposes.

One of the oldest impact structures in the world that was created by an asteroid around 2,500 million years ago,Dhala was discovered by geologist Dr Jayanta K Pati while studying some rocks in Bundelkhand.

Pati was also the department head of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Allahabad University in 2005.

“So far,students could study the crater and not the drill cores even if they visit the spot,as drilling costs are exorbitant and involves technical expertise. Nothing may be found there if we visit it after some years,” said Pati. Therefore,if the spot can be preserved and a library set up,students can study the drill cores any time.

After receiving the approval of the Department of Atomic Energy,Pati has prepared a proposal for allotment of space and infrastructure to set up the library.

The decision to this effect was taken during a joint inspection at Dhala by the members of Atomic Minerals Division and AU.

The inspection was conducted from September 19 to 24.

“The Dhala structure,second in India after Lonar,has been named after the village near which it was discovered. It is the eroded remnant of an impact structure with an estimated present day diameter of 11 km — the largest in Asia,” said Pati.

The discovery was reported in the late August issue of the Meteoritics and Planetry Science journal of The Meteoritical Society published from the University of Arizona,USA.

“The university will also ask for additional funds in case we need it to set up the library,” said an official in the vice-chancellor’s office.

Dhala is the only confirmed structure discovered by an Indian in the Subcontinent and Far East Asia.

Until now,Lonar in Maharashtra was the only confirmed structure,but it was discovered by a British scientist and confirmed by the Americans.