The asteroid believed to have killed off the dinosaurs 66 million years ago was likely a rare carbonaceous asteroid, composed mainly of water, clay, and organic compounds, originating from the outer solar system, possibly beyond the orbit of Jupiter, according to a new study.
Geoscientists from the University of Cologne aimed to determine the origin of the Chicxulub impactor, which left a massive crate on Mexico coast line, with its center now underwater.
The findings suggest the event was extremely rare—the asteroid is the single recorded celestial body to have hit Earth over the last 500 million years that was water-rich.
The Chicxulub asteroid impact is widely accepted as the primary cause of the mass extinction event that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs and marked the end of the Cretaceous period.
The asteroid was estimated to be between 6 and 12 miles in diameter and traveled at a speed of 15.5 miles per second, creating a massive dust cloud that blocked sunlight and contributed to the global cooling and mass extinction.
The impact produced a global stratigraphic layer containing elevated concentrations of platinum-group elements, including ruthenium, marking the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene eras.
NASA and other space agencies are working to catalog dangerous asteroids to enhance Earth's defense strategies against potential future impacts.
Sources: NBC News, Smithsonian Magazine, USA Today, CNN, Fox News, CNET, Gizmodo, Times of India, Yahoo, Noticias Villaguay, El Digital, TrendinTech, Mirage News, Earth.com, Evrim Ağacı, Anadolu Agency, Heise, Business Today, The Morning News, Dev Hardware, The Coast Guard
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.
