Around 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid, measuring between 6 to 9 miles in diameter, collided with Earth. This event marked the end of the dinosaurs and triggered one of the most significant mass extinctions in our planet’s history. The impact left a lasting mark on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, creating the Chicxulub crater—a colossal scar 112 miles wide and 12 miles deep—that serves as a powerful reminder of the asteroid’s devastating power.
New Insights Into the Asteroid’s Origins
Recent research has provided new insights into the origins of this catastrophic asteroid. Scientists have long debated where this destructive space rock came from, but an analysis of the debris left behind has finally provided answers. The study suggests that the asteroid originated from beyond Jupiter, in the outer regions of our solar system. This finding has resolved a long-standing mystery in the scientific community.
The Nature of the Asteroid
The analysis revealed that the impactor was a carbonaceous asteroid, known as a C-type asteroid, which is rich in carbon. This discovery rules out earlier theories that suggested the asteroid might have been a comet or that the debris layer could have been caused by volcanic activity.
“A projectile originating at the outskirts of the solar system sealed the fate of the dinosaurs,” said Mario Fischer-Gödde, a geochemist at the University of Cologne in Germany and the study’s lead author. The research, published in the journal *Science*, provides compelling evidence that the asteroid came from the outer solar system before migrating into the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter.
The Role of Ruthenium Isotopes in the Discovery
Researchers focused their study on ruthenium isotopes, which are rare on Earth but commonly found in asteroids. These isotopes were discovered in a global layer of clay that was deposited after the asteroid impact. The isotopic signature in this clay layer closely matched that of other carbonaceous asteroids, confirming the extraterrestrial origin of the impactor.
“Ruthenium is especially useful in this context as the isotopic signature in the clay layer is almost entirely made up of ruthenium from the impactor and not the background sediment,” explained Steven Goderis, a geoscientist and study co-author from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium.
Understanding C-Type Asteroids
C-type asteroids are among the most ancient objects in our solar system, having formed far from the sun. Their composition is distinct from S-type asteroids, which formed closer to the sun and are considered the primary building blocks of terrestrial planets like Earth. The discovery that the Chicxulub impactor was a C-type asteroid provides valuable information about the origins and evolution of our solar system.