KazPost

Kazakhstan News
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Scientists believe they have discovered where asteroid which wiped out dinosaurs came from

Scientists believe they have discovered where asteroid which wiped out dinosaurs came from

A "sungrazed" comet may be responsible for the extinction event around 66 million years ago.

Scientists think they may be a step closer to understanding where the asteroid or comet that wiped out the dinosaurs came from.

The Chicxulub impactor smashed into the earth off the eastern shore of what is now Mexico, leaving a crater 100 miles across and 12 miles deep.

It ended the reign of the dinosaurs - taking out three quarters of plant and animal life with them - about 66 million years ago.

Three quarters of animal and plant life was taken out by the impact


Experts from Harvard University in the US believe they have figured out how such a large chunk of extra terrestrial rock ended up spelling death for the giant reptiles.

The gravity of the massive planet Jupiter draws comets from the icy outer edges of the solar system and hurtles them inwards, towards the sun.

As the comets slingshot around the sun, the gravitational power of the star breaks apart the cosmic missile.

The resulting shards fly across the solar system - increasing the chance of a collision with planets like Earth.

Undergraduate student Amir Siraj explained: "The solar system acts as a kind of pinball machine.

"Jupiter, the most massive planet, kicks incoming long-period comets into orbits that bring them very close to the sun."

Long-period comets take at least 200 years to orbit the sun, and come from a region of the solar system known as the Oort cloud.

The cloud is thought to exist between 2,000 and 100,000 astronomical units away from the sun - each astronomical unit is the average distance between the Earth and the sun, or about 93 million miles.

The shattering of the comets is known as "sungrazing".

Mr Siraj added: "In a sungrazing event, the portion of the comet closer to the sun feels a stronger gravitational pull than the part that is further, resulting in a tidal force across the object.

"You can get what's called a tidal disruption event, in which a large comet breaks up into many
smaller pieces.

"And crucially, on the journey back to the Oort cloud, there's an enhanced probability that one of these fragments hit the Earth."

Astronomer Avi Loeb said: "Our paper provides a basis for explaining the occurrence of this event.

"We are suggesting that, in fact, if you break up an object as it comes close to the sun, it could give rise to the appropriate event rate and also the kind of impact that killed the dinosaurs."

The comet struck around 66 million years ago


The paper, published in Nature's Scientific Reports, shows new calculations which increase the likelihood of a long-period comet striking the Earth by a factor of 10.

It also suggests that the carbonaceous chondrite material the dinosaur-killing comet was made of is more commonly found in the Oort cloud - something which the pair hope to study more.

Newsletter

Related Articles

KazPost
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
An Ominous Shift in Warfare: Western Powers Risk War Crimes and Violate International Norms with Cluster Bomb Supply to Ukraine
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
Corruption in the European Parliament - Business as usual
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
Paris Suburb Grapples with Violence as Curfew Imposed: Saint-Denis Residents Express Dismay and Anger
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
×