Scientists have finally found evidence that suggests that the asteroid that destroyed planet Earth 66 million years ago came from Jupiter.
The Chicxulub impactor, which has puzzled scientists for decades, was found to be an asteroid belonging to a family of rocks from far-away Jupiter’s orbit.
Scientists Found Uncommon Elements
After analyzing the sediment samples the scientist found Ruthenium, a rare element for earth and found in abundance on asteroids.
Mario Fischer-Gödde, a German research scientist who led the research team, said there is a uniform signature of those elements clearly present in the debris site and attributed them to carbonaceous asteroids.
The asteroids are free floating rocks that are mostly found beyond the orbit of Jupiter but rarely go near the Earth.
Same Element Across Earth
Writing in the journal Science, the researchers found samples of the layer from Denmark, Italy and Spain all showed the same ruthenium isotope composition.
Fischer also contradicted the claim that a comet was responsible for Earth’s destruction, instead arguing that characteristics don’t match those of a comet.
