- Researchers have identified the class of meteorite responsible for the dinosaur extinction 66 million years ago as a carbon monoxide chondrite.
- This type of meteorite, which is a fragment of the six-mile-wide Chicxulub asteroid, is considered a rare and primitive material, making up only five percent of meteorites sampled on Earth.
- The findings highlight the extreme unlikelihood of such a rare projectile impacting Earth, as noted by Dr. Philippe Claeys.
- The study suggests that fine debris thrown into the atmosphere by the impact was the primary factor in wiping out 75 percent of living species, rather than sulfur from the meteorite.
- Scientists propose the Chicxulub asteroid may have originated from the outer asteroid belt near Jupiter or other distant reaches of the solar system.
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