New Research About Dinosaur Killing Asteroid

[PMSchu]

There's new research about the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs (and 70% of the other life on earth) 66 million years ago. The 10 km diameter object seems to have come from the outer solar system beyond Jupiter, unlike the more recent impacting objects. Researchers analyzed the isotopes of ruthenium in the K-T boundary layer at the end of the Cretaceous period to make their determination. Here's a link to the article:

Tracking down the asteroid that sealed the fate of the dinosaurs | ScienceDaily

Hope you find it interesting,

Phil S.

[theskyhound]

Cool.

[PMSchu]

Cool indeed. I used to work with a mass spectrometer that could analyze trace levels of impurities and have seen ruthenium in samples on rare occasions. Also rhodium and palladium. Fun times.

I'm glad you found the article interesting.

Phil S.