For thousands of years, there has been a common question among enthusiasts who study the origin of life, and that is to know what kind of star came to Earth and extinguished the animal life known as dinosaurs, because it must have been such a strong impact as to wipe out all traces of these beings, leaving only their bones behind. And now with a new record, the answer may have arrived and can finally be stored in historical archives.
A recent international study has revealed that the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago came from the orbit of Jupiter. This asteroid, which impacted on Chicxulubin the current peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico, It not only caused the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs, but also that of numerous marine and reptile species, eliminating nearly 60% of life on the planet.
The investigation, led by Mario Fischer-Gödde of the University of Cologneand published in the magazine Sciencehas identified the asteroid as being carbonaceous, clearing up a long-standing debate about its nature. This discovery not only provides new insights into the geological history of the Earth, but also improves our understanding of extraterrestrial objects that have collided with our planet.
The crater of Chicxulub was not formed by the shot of a comète venue des confins de l’espace, but by an asteroid venu du voisinage immédiat de Jupiter ☄️https://t.co/j3JbtMDLbU
— Paléonews (@PaleonewsFrance) August 15, 2024
The team of researchers from multiple countries analyzed ruthenium (Ru) isotopes in samples from the impact of Chicxulub and compared them with other samples from asteroid impacts and carbonaceous meteorites. The results confirmed that the isotopic signatures of the K-Pg boundary, corresponding to the mass extinction, matched those of carbonaceous chondrites, indicating that the asteroid originated in the outer Solar System. This finding re-formulates the understanding of one of the most catastrophic events in human history.
Via: Paleonews
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