Chicxulub asteroid originated beyond Jupiter, 2024 analysis confirms
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The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago came from beyond Jupiter, a 2024 study led by the University of Cologne’s Mario Fischer-Gödde confirms. The team used ruthenium isotopes in debris from the Chicxulub impact to settle the question of the asteroid’s origin.
The Chicxulub Impact
Roughly 66 million years ago, a 10–15 km asteroid struck the Yucatán Peninsula at 20 km/s, excavating the 180-km Chicxulub crater. The impact vaporized rock and lofted dust and soot that blocked sunlight for months, collapsing global food chains. An estimated 75% of species perished, including all non-avian dinosaurs, while the bird lineage survived.
Tracing the Origin
For decades, scientists knew an asteroid caused the mass extinction thanks to an iridium-rich layer found globally in 1980 by Luis and Walter Alvarez, and the later identification of Chicxulub. But the asteroid’s composition and origin remained uncertain until the 2024 Science paper led by Fischer-Gödde.
Ruthenium Isotope Evidence
The team analyzed samples from the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in Denmark, Italy, and Spain, measuring ruthenium isotopes that overwhelmingly come from the asteroid rather than terrestrial rock. The isotopic signature matches objects formed beyond Jupiter, indicating the Chicxulub impactor came from the outer solar system.
What's Next
The findings may prompt planetary scientists to reassess the population of ancient outer-solar-system projectiles that cross Earth’s orbit. It remains unclear whether similar isotopic techniques can be applied to other impact craters to map the origins of earlier mass extinctions.
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Chicxulub asteroid originated beyond Jupiter, 2024 analysis confirms
