Meteor, meteorite, asteroid, comet: What s the difference? 01:13 (CNN)Dinosaurs might have been wiped out by a comet instead of an asteroid, a new study says.
Harvard researchers theorized that a piece of a comet crashed into Earth over 66 million years ago to create the Chicxulub crater, according to a study published Monday in Scientific Reports.
The Chicxulub crater is located on the Yucatán Peninsula of modern-day Mexico and spans about 110 miles. The impact that created the crater is linked to the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, which killed off the dinosaurs and many other species, according to the study. It must ve been a beautiful view, but the fun ended when the rock hit the ground, said study co-author Abraham Loeb, professor of science at Harvard University.
The object s origin has remained a mystery, but Harvard astrophysicists have a new theory.
They suggest the dinosaur-killer wasn t an asteroid, but shrapnel from a comet that had flown too close to the sun.
About 66 million years ago, a space rock more than 6 miles wide collided with Earth, striking land that is now part of Mexico.
The impact sparked wildfires that stretched for hundreds of miles, triggered a mile-high tsunami, and released billions of tons of sulfur into the atmosphere. That gaseous haze blocked the sun, cooling the Earth and dooming the dinosaurs, along with 75% of all life on the planet.
The space rock that doomed the dinosaurs was shrapnel from a comet that flew too close to the sun, a Harvard study suggests msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.