Asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs traced to beyond Jupiter
We now know where the asteroid that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs and other species came from. A new study confirms it was not a comet and pinpoints its origin.
7:31 PM EDT, August 16, 2024
New research sheds light on the origin of the asteroid that, 66 million years ago, led to the extinction of the dinosaurs and other species on Earth. The impact that created the Chicxulub crater on the Yucatán Peninsula had a surprisingly complex path to Earth, as reported by ScienceAlert.
The asteroid that ended the era of the dinosaurs came from a distant part of the Solar System, beyond Jupiter's orbit. Scientists have ruled out the possibility that it was a comet, changing our previous understanding of Earth's interactions with space.
Earlier theories suggested that comets may have delivered water to Earth. Still, asteroids played a crucial role in our planet's past, including during the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period.
Evidence from geological layers
To understand the origin of this catastrophic asteroid, a team of researchers led by geochemist Mario Fischer-Gödde from the University of Cologne examined the mineral ruthenium found in geological layers from the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary.
Analysis of ruthenium isotopes, which differ in the number of neutrons, allowed scientists to determine that this mineral did not come from Earth but from outer space. Moreover, the isotopic composition indicates a rare type of asteroid, the so-called carbonaceous chondrite, formed in the Solar System's outer regions.
These findings confirm that the asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago originated from the distant corners of our Solar System and highlight Jupiter's role as a barrier for objects outside the Solar System. Like carbonaceous chondrites, outer asteroids rarely make it to Earth, making the Chicxulub impact an infrequent and destructive event.
