News Paleontology

The asteroid that may have killed the dinosaurs came from beyond Jupiter

Chemical clues left in the impact crater can help trace the space rock’s origins

An illustration of an asteroid slamming into the ocean near Mexico.

Some 66 million years ago, a large asteroid slammed into Earth, creating a massive crater just off Mexico (shown in this artist’s illustration).

Mark Garlick

By Carolyn Gramling

Earth’s most famous killer asteroid came from the outer reaches of the solar system, researchers report in the Aug. 16 Science.

About 66 million years ago, an asteroid slammed into the sea just off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, forming the Chicxulub crater.