Dinosaur-killing asteroid was likely a giant mudball, study says

Dinosaur-killing asteroid was likely a giant mudball, study says | August 18, 2024

A study found the chemical identity of the asteroid that collided with what’s now the Yucatán Peninsula in Chicxulub, Mexico, 66 million years ago, triggering events that led to the demise of most dinosaurs.

Mark Garlick

Sixty-six million years ago, the story of life on Earth took a dramatic turn when an asteroid collided with what’s now the Yucatán Peninsula in Chicxulub, Mexico. The aftereffects of the collision resulted in the extinction of an estimated 75% of animal species, including most dinosaurs except for birds. But practically nothing of the asteroid itself remains.