London — Scientists have determined the angle of impact for the asteroid that contributed to the dinosaurs' extinction 66 million years ago, according to a study in Nature Communications.
Writing on behalf of the researchers, Imperial College London says in a news release that the asteroid had struck "at the deadliest possible" angle for life on Earth.
Using geological data from the Chicxulub crater in Mexico in a computer model, scientists calculated the space rock's angle of attack at 60 degrees.
The asteroid with its steep impact angle reached sulfur, carbonates and water deep in the Earth.
The vapors and debris were flung into the atmosphere and triggered a nuclear winter that wiped out the dinosaurs.
The researchers found asymmetries between the centers of the mountains inside the crater, the crater's physical center point, and the center of uplifted mantle 30 km beneath the surface.
Scientists then worked backward to model the asteroid's impact.
