Raindrop Falling On Sand Looks Just Like A Tiny Asteroid

WATCH: Slow-Mo Raindrops Look Just Like Tiny Asteroids

If you've ever wondered what an asteroid impact on the Earth would look like in slow motion, have a look at this incredible new video (above) from researchers at the University of Minnesota.

In the video, a raindrop stands in for the asteroid, and a layer of sand stands in for the surface of the Earth. As the drop falls onto the sand, the granular surface deforms into a crater. The researchers say it's very similar, on a tiny scale, to what happens when a space rock smashes into our planet.

"Surprisingly, we found that liquid-drop impact cratering follows the same energy scaling and reproduces the same crater morphology as that of catastrophic asteroid impact cratering," the researchers wrote in the video's description.

The video won an American Physical Society Physics Fluid Motion Award this year, and was posted to the society's YouTube account on Nov. 25.

As YouTube user Martin Mehawk commented on the video, it truly is "spectacular imagery."

Or, as he could have said, "Smashing!"

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