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Study: Asteroid That Killed Dinosaurs was Carbon-Rich

Study: Asteroid That Killed Dinosaurs was Carbon-Rich

Image credit: Historical/Contributor/Corbis Historical via Getty Images

The Spin


WhileThe the comet theory was justifiedunderstandable given the prevalence of carbonaceous chondrites in long-period comets, but the discovery of ruthenium proves it was more likely to have been aan outer Solar System asteroid. The rocks from the impact site were from C-type asteroids, while most of the others were found S-type, which are from the inner Solar System.

While scientists appear to have finally found the cause of the dinosaur's abrupt extinction, the species was likely on its way out — albeit at a slower rate — without the help of a celestial attack. At the time, the Earth was cooling and thus turning widespread tropical climates into a less vegitative climate. Dinosaurs, like most species throughout Earth's history, were slowly losing their food source.

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 7.4.1

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 7.4.1