Latest findings on meteorite that killed dinosaurs proves just how unlucky they were

The meteorite that killed the dinosaurs belonged to an extremely rare class of space rocks, a study has found. It was composed of carbonaceous (CO) chondrites of the Ornans class, something that is typically not seen in the meteorites found on Earth. Scientists say this shows just how far it travelled to smash into Earth and wipe out 75 per cent of dinosaurs. The study was carried out by researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Paris, Brussels and Vienna, and published in Science Advances on Monday (July 20).

The team used advanced nickel isotope analysis of samples to detect the composition of the meteorite that slammed during the Cretaceous-Palaeogene era. Of the meteorites found on Earth, barely any have carried similar signatures. “Carbonaceous chondrites of the Ornans class are definitely not like the typical meteors you find in museum collections,” Dr Philippe Claeys, who was a visiting professor at UBC and part of the study, said.

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“A CO contains much less volatile elements—like carbon, zinc, water and particularly sulphur—than other classes of meteorites we’ve discovered so far on Earth," Dr Claeys added. "Carbonaceous chondrites make up only five per cent of meteorites so far sampled on Earth. Carbonaceous chondrites of the Ornans class — CO chondrites — make up a tiny fraction of that group," he further said, adding “it really underscores how unlucky the dinosaurs were.”

Does it change anything about the dinosaur extinction?

They stressed that the latest discovery does not alter how the dinosaurs died 66 million years ago from the impactor. However, it does clarify one crucial point - that sulphur did not play a major role in the mass extinction event.

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As the meteorite smashed into the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico at a speed of 64,000 km/hr, dust and debris were thrown into the atmosphere. The layer triggered a mass cooling, killing all life slowly. Dr Claeys, a professor with Vrije Universiteit Brussel, said that the work was challenging since "only a minute fraction of the projectile is preserved in the planet’s KT clay layer."

Questions remain about the origin of the meteorite. Scientists say it could have come debris-rich regions of the outer Solar System or even the outer area of the asteroid belt near Jupiter.