Today’s Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features the Ries crater in southern Germany.

Around 15 million years ago, an asteroid crashed through Earth’s atmosphere. The impact left behind the crater, which appears as a semi-circle in the image.

The medieval town of Nördlingen was built in the crater’s depression, and the surrounding region is well-suited for agricultural use.

This image was captured on July 1, 2018 by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Image Credit: European Space Agency