About 66 million years ago, the reign of dinosaurs came to a fiery end. It flew at 27,000 mph (43,000 km/h) and hit it directly on Earth. This shock caused a cascade of fatal events that led to the fifth mass extinction that eliminated dinosaurs, with the exception of some birds.
But what happened to the asteroid on Mount Everest?
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Decades of asteroid dust have rained down to form what is now known as an iridium anomaly. This is a thin layer of rock with 80 times more iridium than anywhere else in the Earth’s crust, Glick said. Iridium is highly concentrated on asteroids, but is hardly present in the outer shell of Earth. This is important evidence that links the 66 million-year-old layer to an asteroid killing dinosaurs.
Perhaps the only mass of asteroids known to exist is a sesame-sized fragment discovered by UCLA geochemist Frank Kite. The Rockbit was found in a core sample excavated from Hawaii, Kite reported in Nature in 1998. It is said that small fragments were discovered in 2022, but the claims are not supported by peer reviews.
“We’ll have to be pretty lucky to find a bigger chunk,” Glick said. But if that were the case, scientists could learn more about the “impact process” experienced by the asteroid itself, making more accurate estimates of, for example, the pressure and temperature experienced.
The asteroid left many additional clues about its journey, including the giant crater that it created when the giant rock collided with Earth. At about 110 miles (180 km) wide and 12 miles (20 km) deep, Mexico today has the enormous asteroid scars. Named after a town near the center of the impact, the crater is covered in rocks and sediments that have shifted over tens of millions of years, and is largely hidden beneath the Gulf of Mexico. However, what is still visible from the surface is the sinkhole arc along some of the edges formed by weakened limestone.
Related: What happens if a giant asteroid doesn’t wipe out the dinosaurs?
The impact created a nearly miles tall tsunami that traveled throughout the ocean, moving the water to 89 mph (143 km/h). The giant waves cause marks on the seabed, known as the “Mega Ripple,” and are as high as a five-storey building, and are preserved deeply below Louisiana. Earthquake investigations revealed that rippled water came from the direction of the Chicxulub crater.
In addition to killing unlucky creatures in areas just around the corner of the asteroid landing and subsequent tsunami, the impact caused a series of other devastating effects, such as fatal acid rain and global fires. But perhaps the most destructive cloud of debris that covers the Earth, dramatically cools the planets, blocks sunlight and photosynthesis, and disrupts the food chain (although the length of this “nuclear winter” is debated). It is widely agreed that the asteroid and its aftermath are responsible for the extinction of non-bird dinosaurs, eventually wiping out about 75% of the species on Earth.
“We’ve seen a lot of effort into this world,” said Alan Hildebrand, Planetary Scientist and Associate Professor at the University of Calgary. Hildebrand co-authored a paper in 1991, publishing the discovery of the Chicxulub crater. The study provided key evidence linking the crater’s connection to dinosaur death.
For Hildebrand, it’s no surprise that asteroids have wiped out most of life on Earth.
In Alberta where he was in the interview, Hildebrand marveled at the pure power of influence. The nearby layer from the Chicxilub impact is 0.4-0.8 inches (1-2 cm) thick, and the material was blown up here from the Yucatan Peninsula,” he said.
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