You searched for: “ejecta
ejectus (s), ejecta (pl)
Cast out; matter ejected, material thrown out; as, the ejecta of a volcano; the ejecta of the body.
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ejecta blanket
Chunks of rock, usually extending from one side of a crater, that were ejected during he crater's formation.

The extent of an ejecta blanket is determined by a number of factors including the size and mass of the impacting body (a meteorite, an asteroid, or a comet), the surface gravity, and the atmospheric pressure.

Where there is no atmosphere and the surface gravity is low, the ejecta blanket may extend to several times the radius of the central crater; on the other hand, on a world where both the atmospheric pressure and surface gravity are relatively high, the ejecta blanket will not reach far beyond the crater rim.

This entry is located in the following unit: Astronomy and related astronomical terms (page 9)