Jain Journal 1991 10

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 57

138
JAIN JOURNAL
The lake rarely dries but it did only once, three years ago. And then the locals say, they noticed a Siva Linga in the centre. Perhaps that's a remnant of the impactor. The other report is that the lake bottom was covered with glassy chips which were salty or acidic taste. The people of Lonar village say that the water lavel of the lake has been rising and they attribute it to a dam built nearby.
The place where the lake lies was probably an elevated plateau and the impact pushed in. Tests on the basaltic rock pieces found in and around the crater lake reveal that the rocks are magnetic around Lonar. If we could dig up the crater a few hundred feet perhaps we may recover broken fragments of the meteor. The meteor itself may be embedded under a 30 to 50 metres of soil.
Some years ago a Tata Company drilled in the centre of the lake from a platform set up in it. The samples withdrawn from bore hole closely resembled lunar soil. The Lonar crater is the only basalt crater on earth, there are several such basaltic craters on the moon. The Geological Survey of India which conducted its own studies also concluded it was a basaltic lake and that the meteor which caused it must have been 50 to 60 metres across.
But we do not have definite clues. How big and heavy was the meteor ? At which angle did it strike? What was its velocity ? How much energy did it release on impact ? Also the water and soil of the crater and lake need to be analysed chemically and physically in greater detail
Geologically, Lonar is a young crater. Physical and Chemical analyses will help determine its age accurately. About 100 million years a major meteor event is said to have occured in the vicinity of the earth and this led to the formation of several craters on the moon, the moon craters are obviously that old. There are some fifty impact craters on earth of which Lonar in one
Several homes around Lonar are built from magnetic rocks obtained from the crater and in a Jain temple closely, the icon of Lord Parsvanatha has been carved out of a huge chunk. Any way the question is : Is the Jain figurine from the original meteorite ? Truly, a god descended from heaven.
from Indian Express, March 5, 1991