Scientists believe they now know where the dinosaur-killing asteroid came from

undefined 21, 2024

Source: cbc

Around 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid, estimated to be 10 to 15 kilometers wide, struck Earth near the Yucatán Peninsula, causing a cataclysmic explosion and a giant tsunami, leading to the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. A new study in *Science* confirms that the impactor was a carbonaceous asteroid from beyond Jupiter. Researchers identified this by analyzing the isotope ruthenium, a rare element found in Earth's crust, which left behind a "cosmic fingerprint" from the asteroid despite its destruction.

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