Carolyn and Mark's German Eclipse Adventure
Nördlingen

RiesKrater panorama
While Carolyn participated in the symposium, Mark and Volker continued their touring. They visited the Rieskrater-Museum in Nördlingen, site of a 15 million-year-old meteor impact crater. As it turns out, the late Gene Shoemaker and his wife and comet-hunting partner Carolyn Shoemaker had visited the museum a few years ago. Gene had studied the site and proclaimed it an impact crater -- and was honored by having Eugene-Shoemaker-Platz named after him.
Crater aerial photo About the only way to make out the crater is to see it from the air -- as you can see from this aerial photo prominently displayed in the museum. It's far too wide to see from the ground.
Steinheim panorama
Mark and Volker then drove to Steinheim, a town built entirely within the basin of a smaller impact crater, formed by the same event that formed Rieskrater. This one you can see from the ground; the town center lies atop the central peak of the crater. Click on the picture to see it bigger.