Asteroid That Caused Dinosaur Extinction: New Study Reveals Its Unique Origin and Composition

New research shows that the asteroid responsible for our planet’s last mass extinction came 66 million years ago, perhaps best known for wiping out the dinosaurs and the lion’s share of life on Earth at that time, from the outermost parts of our solar system. .

The asteroid is thought to have been at least 11 kilometers across and possibly as much as 81 kilometers in diameter.

This is very different from most other asteroids that hit the Earth, shows the study recently published in the famous journal Science.

Stands out in two important ways

Scientists in Europe and the United States have discovered that the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was formed outside the orbit of Jupiter, in a very cold region, and that it was rich in the water and carbon, according to findings published Thursday in the journal Science.

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The research team says that of the cosmic objects that hit the Earth in the last 500 years, only the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was so rich in water. Objects that came from closer to Earth are much drier, said Francois Tissot, professor and co-author of the study.

– Every other impact was something with an object that was close to the sun and happened to hit us. So the person who killed the dinosaurs is very special in two ways: both because of what he did and where he came from, he explains ABC News.

Although scientists have not been able to examine a direct sample of the asteroid since it was destroyed, Tissot explained that dust from the impact fell back to Earth, making it possible to study the particles involved. different layers of the earth.

– It is very likely that it was a comet

In particular, they studied the element

Ruthenium is an element with atomic number 44 and atomic symbol Ru. Group 8 of the periodic table is a metal, after iron. Platinum is considered one of the light metals (along with rhodium and palladium). Ruthenium is very hard and brittle, writes Store Norske Leksikon.

” />, which is very rare on Earth and can be traced back to this asteroid.

The study confirmed earlier findings that identified the asteroid as a carbonaceous compound, or C-type asteroid, but also dismissed the 2021 hypothesis that the dinosaur-killer was a comet.

– Comets come from very far away from the sun, but they mostly consist of ice and dust. Comet has not been measured for ruthenium, so we have no basis for comparison, but based on other signals from other elements that the research community has been able to measure over time, it is very likely that it was a comet.

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Of course this has long been a point of contention in the research community, he wrote New York Times. Scientists have long debated whether an asteroid or a comet killed the dinosaurs.

– This is the nail in the coffin. This isotopic signature of ruthenium that we measured can only mean that it was a carbon-rich asteroid, says Mario Fischer-Gödde, a researcher at the University of Cologne and lead author of the study. newspaper.

Why are we there?

Tissot emphasizes that the study is a step forward in the task of understanding the development of our planet.

– If enough research is done on and about the history of the earth, suddenly we have a comprehensive view of the development of the entire planet. And then we can start asking other questions.

– This is the nail in the coffin. This isotopic signature of ruthenium that we measured can only mean that it was a carbon-rich asteroid, says Mario Fischer-Gödde, a researcher at the University of Cologne and the one who led the study. the newspaper.

It also turns out that we actually have the dinosaur killer to thank for its existence.

– What would our earth look like today if it wasn’t for this victory? Maybe we should be a little more aware that we are here, and that maybe it’s a happy coincidence that everything fell into place the way it is today, he says to the New York Times.

The researcher in Rome, David Kring, who is an expert on the impact in the Chicxulub crater, praises the new study.

– It is important to identify the type of asteroid that hits because it helps us to assess the frequency of such impacts in the past and the risk of such impacts that may occur on our planet in the future, he says to the same newspaper.