using computer modeling, scientists at Imperial College London recreated the fall of the asteroid and found that it fell to the Ground at a very high angle of 60 degrees, which caused the most devastating consequences. The study is published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
it is Known that the accident occurred about 66 million years ago. A giant asteroid with a diameter of up to 15 kilometers fell on the territory of modern Mexico, leaving trehsotmetrovoy the Chicxulub crater.
Geologists studied rocks formed at the time of formation of the Chicxulub crater, after an expedition to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. The subject of their four-year study was the chemical composition and structure of rocks and the shape of the funnel. It was important for scientists to understand how an asteroid fell.
based On the data, geologists have created an accurate three-dimensional model of the crater. And then reproduced the fall of the virtual asteroids of different sizes, weights, and compositions, changing the angle and direction of their fall.
the Coincidence of the asteroid with the existing funnel occurred in the case where the celestial body fell almost vertically to the surface of the Earth, literally rammed her.
“This is the most dangerous scenario of falling, as a result of the atmosphere have hit the maximum amount of dust from carbon dioxide and sulphur compounds. She scattered across the planet, which led to the occurrence of a full “nuclear winter”, destroying the flora and fauna of the Mesozoic era” – said one of the study’s authors Gareth Collins. If an asteroid fell to the Ground at an angle of 15°, the quantity of ejected dust, would be approximately three times less, and if he fell vertically – much less.
the work of scientists helps us to understand how there are craters on other planets, and to assess whether such an event be repeated in the foreseeable future.
