{"success":true,"data":{"id":"f7e02ce3-df19-4753-b3e6-ad2e5c2dc07d","title":"Researchers just uncovered more about the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago","summary":"Findings really underscore ‘how unlucky the dinosaurs were,’ researcher says","content":"US Edition Change\n\nSupport Now\n\n*   News[News](https://www.independent.co.uk/us)\n\n*   World Cup[World Cup](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup)\n\n*   Sports[Sports](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport)\n\n*   Culture[Culture](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment)\n\n*   Lifestyle[Lifestyle](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style)\n\n*   Money[Money](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/money)\n\n*   Travel[Travel](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/travel)\n\n*   Premium[Premium](https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium)\n\nMore\n\nMore\n\n### Thank you for registering\n\nPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in\n\nThe Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.\n\n# Researchers just uncovered more about the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago\n\n## Findings really underscore ‘how unlucky the dinosaurs were,’ researcher says\n\n[Julia Musto](https://www.independent.co.uk/author/julia-musto)in New York Friday 17 July 2026 23:19 BST\n\n*   Copy link  \n*   Bookmark  \n*   [Comments](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/meteorite-dinosaurs-study-extinction-earth-space-b3017199.html#comments-area)Go to comments  \n\n## Bookmark popover\n\nRemoved from bookmarks\n\nClose popover\n\n‘Alien chemistry’ found on meteorite that dropped on New Jersey home\n\n### Your support helps us to tell the story\n\nFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.\n\nAt such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.\n\nThe Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.\n\n**Your support makes all the difference.**\n\nResearchers have uncovered the class of [meteorite](https://www.independent.co.uk/space/alien-chemistry-meteorite-meteor-b3015619.html) that killed the [dinosaurs](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trex-gus-auction-fossil-sothebys-b3014893.html) 66 million years ago — and it’s one not commonly seen on [Earth](https://www.independent.co.uk/space/alien-life-planet-exoplanet-world-b3016382.html).\n\nWhile an asteroid was the responsible party for ending the age of the dinosaurs, meteorites are what we call parts of asteroids that have survived their trip to Earth’s surface.\n\nWhen the six-mile-wide [“Chicxulub” asteroid](https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/press/asteroid_impact.html) hit the planet, it disintegrated, leaving a major crater and [shards thousands of miles away](http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=44681X1458326&xcust=b3017199&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2022%2F04%2F07%2Fscience%2Fasteroid-killed-dinosaurs-fossil-site.html%3Feafs_enabled%3Dfalse&sref=/news/science/meteorite-dinosaurs-study-extinction-earth-space-b3017199.html).\n\nUsing traces of Chicxulub, scientists found that the world-shattering chondrite – [a term for the oldest known rocks](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003TrGeo...1..143S/abstract) – was made of [carbon monoxide](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/carbon-monoxide-deaths-toledo-ohio-ford-explorer-b3016376.html).\n\nThese types of meteorites make up only five percent of meteorites sampled on Earth and are some of the most primitive materials in our solar system, according to new [research](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aef4858) published Friday by scientists at the University of British Columbia.\n\nopen image in gallery\n\nNew research identifies what class of meteorite hit Earth 66 million years ago, killing the majority of life and ending the age of the dinosaurs(Getty Images/iStock)\n\n“Being impacted by such a rare, distant projectile really underscores how unlucky the dinosaurs were,” Dr. Philippe Claeys, a visiting professor at the school, explained in a [statement](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1136341).\n\nThe findings don’t change the theory of what happened when Chicxulub struck Earth at what is now the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, he noted.\n\nBut it does make it less likely that sulfur in the meteorite – an element that can be combustible – is responsible for wiping out 75 percent of living species.\n\n“The fine debris thrown into the atmosphere would have been the primary factor,” said Claeys.\n\nClaeys partnered with other researchers in Europe, including some at the Parisian Institut de Physique du Globe and Université de Paris.\n\nDr. Philippe Claeys, a visiting professor at the University of British Columbia, was one of the researchers who made the discovery(Credit: University of British Columbia)\n\nThese researchers measured trace elements in samples collected from a thin layer of clay created by the meteorite.\n\nChicxulub may have been coming from the outer area of the [asteroid belt near Jupiter](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/916909), or the distant reaches of the solar system, the team said.\n\nMany questions remain about the asteroid and its impact, and what wiped out life on Earth is still being studied.\n\nSome researchers have suggested that [climate change may have played a role](https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dinosaurs-ancient-fossils/extinction/deccan-traps-volcanoes) long before the impact and others [point to volcanoes](https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/03/04/did-volcanoes-kill-dinosaurs-new-evidence-points-maybe).\n\nResidue of the crater’s impact was found in a thin layer of clay(Credit: Dr. Philippe Claeys)\n\nEither way, what could have happened sounds bad.\n\nIn a vivid account published in [_The Conversation_](https://theconversation.com/what-it-would-have-been-like-to-experience-the-dinosaur-killing-asteroid-armageddon-a-blow-by-blow-account-271786), English professors Monica Grady and Michael Benton describe a harrowing scene of indiscriminate death.\n\n“Whether a dinosaur or a dung beetle, if you were near the transient cavity you would have been incinerated instantly by the blast,” they wrote.\n\n“But even if you were up to 2,000 kilometers from the epicenter, you’d likely have been killed quickly by the thermal radiation and supersonic winds now spreading out from the impact site,” the professors said.\n\n### More about\n\n## Join our commenting forum\n\nJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies\n\n### Most popular\n\n### Popular videos\n\n### Bulletin","source_name":"The Independent","source_url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/meteorite-dinosaurs-study-extinction-earth-space-b3017199.html","url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/meteorite-dinosaurs-study-extinction-earth-space-b3017199.html","author":"Julia Musto","author_name":"Julia Musto","published_at":"2026-07-17T22:19:06.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-17T22:19:06.000Z","image_url":"https://static.independent.co.uk/2026/07/17/21/57/iStock-1160635394.jpeg","category":"science","topic":"science","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":5,"word_count":827,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot"}}