Extinction of Species
That event resulted in the extinction of approximately 60% of Earth’s species, including all non-avian dinosaurs.
Wikimedia Commons user Eva K.
It is thought to have brought about a terrible time in the planet’s history when the planet would have caught fire.
Distant Outer Solar System
During this period of destruction, the Earth would have been covered in ash, and the climate would have become deadly.
NASA/ESA/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M.H. Wong and I. de Pater
Additionally, it all began beyond Jupiter in the faraway outer solar system.
The Chicxulub Impactor
The Chicxulub impactor formed beyond Jupiter, colliding with Earth to leave the vast crater that bears its name.
Wikimedia Commons user LawrieM
Scientists refer to the Chicxulub impactor as a C-type asteroid
Resolving the Debate
The discovery, according to scientists, should aid in resolving decades-long debates regarding the Earth’s past and the objects that have collided with it.
Wikimedia Commons user Agsftw
They looked at samples from around the same time as the mass extinction and came to those conclusions.
Sample Analysis
Scientists analyzed samples between the Cretaceous and Paleogene epochs.
Wikimedia Commons user G.dallorto
In addition, they looked at samples taken from five other asteroid impacts.
Platinum Group Elements
These other asteroid impacts occurred in the last 541 million years as well as ancient impacts that occurred billions of years ago.
Wikimedia Commons user Alchemist-hp
Platinum group elements, or PGEs, like iridium, ruthenium, osmium, rhodium, and palladium tend to be abundant in Earth layers from the same time period.
Wide Dispersion
PGEs are commonly found in meteorites but are uncommon on Earth.
Wikimedia Commons user Alchemist-hp
Nevertheless, their widespread presence suggests that they were dispersed widely during the collision.
Ru Isotope Signatures
The Ru isotope signatures, which would be a relic of PGEs, were analyzed in the samples by researchers.
Flickr user Shiny Things
They also discovered that the ones taken at the time of the extinction were mostly uniform and appeared to be carbonaceous chondrites, an unusual type of meteorite.
Faraway Formation
According to the researchers, this further suggests that the Chicxulub impactor did not originate from a comet.
Flickr user Perry Quan
Instead, scientists believe that the Chicxulub impactor formed in the faraway solar system.
Other Insights
In addition, there were hints of a similar composition in the ancient samples.
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker
This suggests that other objects from the outer solar system struck the Earth as it was forming.
Findings Reported
S-type, or salicaceous, asteroids, which form in the inner solar system, appeared to have been the targets of those collisions.
NASA/JPL/JHUAPL
This was discovered through analyzing the other more recent samples.
“Ruthenium isotopes show the Chicxulub impactor was a carbonaceous-type asteroid” is the title of a study published in the scientific journal Science which reported the findings.