Astronomers: A comet fragment, not an asteroid, killed off the dinosaurs

Discuss the latest astronomy news!
Post Reply
User avatar
smp United States of America
Inter-Galactic Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 3403
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 10:34 pm
4
Location: NH, USA
Status:
Offline

Astronomers: A comet fragment, not an asteroid, killed off the dinosaurs

#1

Post by smp »


From Ars Technica:
"...in a new paper published in Scientific Reports, Harvard astronomers offer an alternative: a special kind of comet—originating from a field of debris at the edge of our solar system known as the Oort cloud—that was thrown off course by Jupiter's gravity toward the Sun. The Sun's powerful tidal forces then ripped pieces off the comet, and one of the larger fragments of this "cometary shrapnel" eventually collided with Earth."

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02 ... dinosaurs/

Interesting theory.

smp
Stephen
- - - - -
Telescopes: Questar 3.5 Standard SN 18-11421; Stellina (EAA)
Solar: Thousand Oaks white light filter; Daystar Quark (chromosphere) Hα filter
Mounts: Explore Scientific Twilight I; Majestic heavy duty tripod
Local Club: New Hampshire Astronomical Society
Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

Return to “Astronomy News”