Canada, July 22.- A team led by the University of Paris has published in Science Advances the results of an advanced analysis of nickel isotopes in samples to determine the composition of the deadly Cretaceous-Paleogene meteorite.The study suggests it was an Ornans-class carbonaceous chondrite, which "are not at all like the typical meteorites found in museum collections," indicated Philippe Claeys, from the University of British Columbia (Canada) and one of the authors of the paper.A CO chondrite, a cosmic rarity
Carbonaceous chondrites represent only five percent of the meteorites from which samples have been obtained on Earth, and the Ornans class (CO chondrites) represents an infinitesimal fraction of that group."The fact that they were struck by such a rare and distant projectile truly highlights how unfortunate the dinosaurs were," Claeys noted in a statement from his university.The impact that formed Chicxulub
The body that caused the impact was between 10 and 15 kilometers in diameter and struck at an estimated speed of 64,000 kilometers per hour, forming the Chicxulub crater in Mexico.Researchers measured nickel isotopes in marine clays collected over several years from a fine layer of material formed across the planet as a result of the impact, as the meteorite completely vaporized upon collision.A CO chondrite, which is one of the most primitive virgin materials in the solar system, contains far fewer volatile elements—such as carbon, zinc, water, and, most importantly, sulfur—than other types of meteorites discovered on Earth so far.Where did the meteorite come from?
Questions remain regarding the meteorite's origins, although it could have arrived from the far-off, debris-rich regions of the outer solar system or the outer zone of the asteroid belt, near Jupiter.
(Taken from Cubasí)
