Discovery pinpoints the origin of dinosaur-killing asteroid
Scientists have determined the origin of the dinosaur killer, the asteroid that struck Earth with tremendous force and caused extensive changes to the planet.
An object with a diameter of nearly 10 kilometres struck the area of present-day Mexico around 66 million years ago, leaving behind the Chicxulub crater, which has a diameter of 145 kilometres.
It is estimated that the impact released energy equivalent to that of 10 billion atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima.
This not only caused massive earthquakes, tsunamis, and fires but also led to a 30-year cooling of the climate. For at least three years, the Earth's average surface temperature (today nearly 15°C) fell below 0°C. This event contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs, giving mammals, including humans, a chance for evolutionary development.
Scientists claim this is the only such event to have occurred in the last 250 million years.
Many theories over the years
How did all this happen? Over the years, many theories have emerged. The latest one, explained by an international team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Cologne, has been published in the journal "Science."
Their analysis showed that the meteorite that left behind the massive Chicxulub crater was an asteroid originating from beyond Jupiter's orbit, from the distant reaches of the Solar System.
Many hypotheses have been raised about what object struck the Yucatan Peninsula, creating the massive crater. However, over time, all of them have been disproved. Geochemical analysis of the Chicxulub crater revealed that the asteroid that caused its formation had to be largely composed of carbon.
