Meteorite impacts are major geological processes of the planetary bodies of the Solar System. All surfaces of solid planets show impact craters. Their study can give information about the evolution of the planet, about the impactor, as well as about the history of collisions in the early Solar System. On Earth, only about 205 impact structures are known, but can give crucial in-situ information about impact processes on other planetary surfaces. Studying them can also help to understand the consequences of meteorite impacts, at local, regional and global scales.
We will introduce some bases about the meteorites, which are the sources of impacts, about the theory vs. observations of impact processes, on Earth as well as on other planets. We will also describe the negative and positive consequences of impacts, focusing on the several impact structures.
Meteorites, Impact craters, Impact processes and products, Planetary evolution, Geophysics, Petrology
