News Excerpts: 

Scientists in a new discovery have suggested that a 1.8-kilometre-wide depression, which is called the Luna structure, may have been created by the impact of the largest meteorite to have hit Earth in the last 50,000 years.

More About the News: 

• The luna crater of Gujrat might have been formed due to the meteorite crash on earth.
• The meteorite, which is like a fireball, may have triggered wildfires and massive shockwaves that are likely to have spread in an area where the Indus Valley civilisation's people were living thousands of years ago.
• This impact event, if confirmed, could have had significant consequences, including shockwaves and wildfires that may have affected the ancient Indus Valley civilization. 
• The Luna structure in India has long been speculated to be an impact crater, although conclusive evidence has been lacking. 
• However, various characteristics of the Luna structure support the hypothesis of an impact origin.
• Recent geochemical analyses of the Luna structure have revealed a notable presence of iridium in the soil, suggesting a potential link to an iron meteorite impact. 
• However, conclusive evidence identifying the Luna structure as a meteor crater remains elusive. 
• Researchers are keen to find super-heated rocks that melted due to the impact's energy, which would provide stronger support for the impact hypothesis.

Despite the absence of such evidence, scientists like Gordon Osinski from Western University in Canada are inclined to believe that the Luna structure is indeed an impact crater, citing various lines of evidence such as the presence of iridium and the crater's morphology.

Factors that support the evidence:

• Circular Morphology: The Luna structure appears as a circular feature in the Banni Plains, which is consistent with impact craters seen on other planetary bodies.
• Melt-Like Rocks: The presence of rocks with melt-like features, along with high specific gravity and diverse magnetic properties, is indicative of the intense heat and pressure associated with an impact event.
• Mineralogical Composition: Minerals such as wüstite, kirschsteinite, ulvöspinel, hercynite, and fayalite found in the Luna area are commonly associated with impact structures.
• Geochemical Signatures: Geochemical data points to an impact into a target rich in clay, calcium, and silica content, suggesting a high-velocity impact event.
• Projectile Type: The presence of iron or stony-iron meteorite signatures further supports the impact hypothesis, with the potential projectile being identified as such.
• Radiocarbon Dating: The radiocarbon dating of a silt layer containing plant remnants underlying the strewn layer provides a timeframe for the impact event, placing it within the last 10,000 years.

Conclusion: 

Ongoing analysis of the surrounding rocks and soil could offer more insights into the characteristics of the impacting object, thereby strengthening the hypothesis of an impact event for the Luna structure. Further geological and geochemical investigations, along with the application of advanced dating methods, hold the potential to yield additional evidence necessary to definitively establish its classification as an impact crater.