Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
About 66 million years ago, a massive space rock hit Earth and killed off almost all the dinosaurs. A team of researchers think they know where the rock came from.
Their findings could help Nasa, the US space agency, identify potentially hazardous asteroids that pose a threat to life on Earth.
Each asteroid has a different chemical make-up depending on where it formed in our solar system. To determine the dino-killing asteroid’s origin, researchers examined the elements in samples taken from locations dating to the time of the mass extinction.
The scientists found that this asteroid formed in the outer solar system.
Knowing more about the origin of asteroids in Earth’s past could help Nasa know where to look for future risks.
Suggested answer: It will help the space agency in its search for potentially hazardous asteroids that pose a significant threat to life on Earth.
