Final answer:
Impact cratering modifies a planetary surface by creating craters through celestial impacts, yet on Earth, many signs of this process are erased by active geology and plate tectonics. Crater remnants, however, indicate influence on Earth's geological history and life evolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
Impact cratering significantly modifies a surface and is one of the most visually distinctive ways planetary bodies in our solar system have evolved over time. When thinking about how impact cratering modifies a surface, Earth's history provides evidence that, although impacted heavily like the Moon, active geology and plate tectonics have erased many signs of past cratering events on our planet. Nevertheless, geologists have identified eroded remnants of these impact craters recently, suggesting their importance in Earth's geological and biological history.
On other celestial bodies with less geological activity, such as the Moon, craters are much more prominent. This is because there is a lack of processes like erosion, tectonics, or volcanism that could otherwise obscure or eliminate these impact craters. The stages in the formation of an impact crater involve the initial impact, shock wave dispersal, ejection of debris, and the eventual settling of this material, sometimes outside the crater as an ejecta blanket.
The impact of celestial objects has not only shaped the physical appearance of planets but has also impacted the evolution of life on Earth, making impact cratering an important process in both geological and biological contexts.