Scientists Shed More Light on Dinosaur Extinction Impact

Scientists Shed More Light on Dinosaur Extinction Impact

www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A collision 160 million years ago of two asteroids orbiting between Mars and Jupiter sent many big rock chunks hurtling toward Earth, including the one that zapped the dinosaurs, scientists said on Wednesday.

Their research offered an explanation for the cause of one of the most momentous events in the history of life on Earth -- a six-mile-wide (10-km-wide) meteorite striking Mexico's Yucatan peninsula 65 million years ago.

That catastrophe eliminated the dinosaurs...

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So I guess the main point of this is that it was almost certainly an asteroid. In the past I think they've usually said asteroid or comet.

I guess an impact of two asteroids in the asteroid belt could send a huge chunk of rock hurdling towards Earth at any time with little notice. So just looking for presently Earth orbit-crossing asteroids isn't really a full solution in identifying extraterrestrial body threats.

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

As bad as it was for the dinosaurs, it was good for us. Without that mass extinction, the protoshrew mammals that were our ancestors might never have gotten their day in the sun.

While I would hate for it to happen to us any time soon, as far as that particular asteroid strike is concerned, all I can say is, Go Space Rock!