This tiny stone may be a fragment of the meteorite that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs



Share

Some fragments extracted from fossilized amber do not correspond to limestone. The theory is that they are fragments of the meteorite.

An archeological dig at Hell Creek in North Dakota may have been the birthplace of one of the most important discoveries of the century. This location is already famous for having been the place where numerous dinosaur fossils have been discovered, but delving into the findings, experts have discovered something else. In a piece of amber, preserved for millions of years, can be trapped a small fragment of the asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs more than 65 million years ago.

The supposed meteorite fragments were inside a piece of fossilized amber

The paleontologist Robert DePalma has been the one who has directed the investigation that has led to this incredible discovery. At the North Dakota site they found remains of fish, turtles and even dinosaur limbsBut that wasn’t what caught DePalma’s attention. The most revealing were some sediments found inside a piece of amber preserved fossilized for millions of years. This is how DePalma explained it to CNN:



“In that amber we have located a series of spherules that were basically frozen in time. Just as an insect gets trapped in amber and ends up perfectly preserved, when these spherules entered the amber, water couldn’t reach them. Consequently, they never turned to clay, and that is why today we have been able to analyze them.”

There is nothing new in finding fossilized earth or mud in this type of excavation, but some of these fragments showed something special. Most of the material that was extracted from amber was fossilized limestone, with a high calcium component in its structure. DePalma has revealed that he probably came from the Yucatan peninsula, but in the version of him from 65 million years ago.

Some fragments did not coincide with the structure of the terrestrial soil, they were of cosmic origin

However, there were two tiny fragments that had nothing to do with limestone. At first, the researchers believed that it was sediment of some kind, probably generated by the impact of the asteroid on Earth. Then they realized that that type of stone was not found on our planet:

“Two of these fragments had a very different composition. You had spikes in chromium and nickel in your structure, along with some other elements that are only common in meteoritic material. Based on our preliminary analysis…these fragments are almost with security of cosmic origin”

If it is true that these fragments come from space, the logical thing is that they belonged to the asteroid that hit the Earth and caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. NASA has spoken out explaining that, if its authenticity is confirmed, it would be a historic and extraordinary discovery for society.

This new satellite leaves us breathtaking images of the Earth taken from space

Related topics: Science

Share



Related News

How to Change Your IP Address Quickly and Easily

Whether you own a laptop, desktop PC, smartphone, or even a smartwatch, you will be assigned an IP address. This is a unique row of numbers that identifies

Samsung Galaxy S22 ReviewThe Android flagship that matters the most

Samsung's 2022 flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S22 series is the most talked about Android smartphone launch of the year. The vanilla Samsung Galaxy S22 is said

This iPhone 13 Pro deal convinced me to upgrade — and you can still get it

Back in September, I managed to talk myself into buying an iPhone 13 Pro. I decided I'd hold on to my trusty iPhone XS for another year. After offloading apps

Xiaomi Redmi K50 and Xiaomi Redmi K50 Pro: the most extreme power is not exclusive to the premium range

The most powerful mobiles of the Redmi family are already official in China: Xioami has unveiled the Redmi K50 and Redmi K50 Pro in its country, two

This is how a robot learns to improve its movements to adapt to any type of terrain

Robotics has incorporated multiple solutions over the last few years. The improvement of the software systems has served to add new functions and, of course,

Best apps to learn to play drums from iPhone

Battery It is one of the essential instruments within a band and is the main one in charge of marking the rhythm that characterizes each musical genre. It is