Ejecta blanket

An ejecta blanket is a generally symmetrical apron of ejecta that surrounds a crater; it is layered thickly at the crater’s rim and thin to discontinuous at the blanket’s outer edge.

After an impact event, the falling debris forms an ejecta blanket surrounding the crater. Approximately half the volume of ejecta falls within 1 crater radius of the rim, or 2 radii from the center of the crater. The ejecta blanket becomes thinner with distance and increasingly discontinuous. Over 90% of the debris falls within approximately 5 radii of the center of the crater. Ejecta which falls within that area is considered proximal ejecta. Beyond 5 radii, the discontinuous debris is considered distal ejecta.