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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

The killer asteroid that unleashed a giant dust cloud across the globe

Modelling finally explains how debris from a space rock’s impact travelled around the world.
Chicxulub impact event.

The asteroid collision (artist’s impression) that wiped out the dinosaurs spawned a fast-moving dust plume that shrouded the entire planet. Credit: Detlev Van Ravenswaay/SPL

The huge asteroid that slammed into Earth 66 million years ago blanketed the entire planet in debris. Now simulations show exactly how that material spread so far from the impact site.

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Nature 579, 475 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00807-w

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