In the 1990s, the connection was strengthened with the discovery of a 125-mile-wide Chicxulub impact crater beneath the Gulf of Mexico that is the same age as the rock layer. The new study seals the deal, researchers said, by finding asteroid dust with a matching chemical fingerprint within that crater at the precise geological location that marks the time of the extinction.
"The circle is now finally complete," said Steven Goderis, a geochemistry professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, who led the study published in Science Advances on Feb. 24.
And here's another article:
Asteroid the size of the Golden Gate Bridge will whiz past Earth in March | Space
The space rock, officially called 231937 (2001 FO32), is about 0.5 to 1 mile (0.8 to 1.7 kilometers) in diameter and will come within 1.25 million miles (2 million kilometers) of Earth at 11:03 a.m. EST (1603 GMT) on March 21 — close enough and large enough to be classified as "potentially hazardous," according to a database published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
An asteroid is designated as "potentially hazardous" when its orbit intersects with Earth's at a distance of no more than about 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) and it is bigger than about 500 feet (140 meters) in diameter, according to NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) .
An asteroid the size of the Golden Gate Bridge will pass by Earth in March
To make 2021 stand out even more, an asteroid as wide as the Golden Gate Bridge is scheduled to zoom past Earth next month.
Not to worry, though, the space rock officially named 231937 (2001 FO32) will only come within 1.25 million miles of Earth, according to Patrick Pester with Space.com.
Asteroid the size of the Golden Gate Bridge will whiz past Earth in March https://t.co/X8bVvaZowm pic.twitter.com/sSbv4kz2Qh
The asteroid is scheduled to make its drive-by on March 21, at 11:03 a.m. EST, according to Pester.
Why 2020 Was A Stellar Year For Hunting Asteroids | KJZZ
ERIC CHRISTENSEN: Discovery rate of near-Earth asteroids is driven by the productivity of the ground-based surveys like Catalina Sky Survey. You know, we operate in southern Arizona, and we actually had pretty good weather for the most part in 2020. We did not have a strong monsoon season, so we were able to operate throughout the year. And despite the challenges of the pandemic and wildfires, we were able to continue our operations fairly smoothly.
GOLDSTEIN: But in that sense, it almost sounds simple that, you know, if you do get really clear skies, then you're able to see more things. And it's just lowest level. Is that a big part of it?
Quite a lot has been going on:
Asteroid ‘Apophis’ can be seen from Earth this weekend | Fox 59
ST. LOUIS ( KTVI ) — An asteroid the size of three football fields will pass by a star and be visible from Earth on Sunday. But have no fear, there is no danger of it hitting our planet.
“With asteroid Apophis or any asteroid we know about now, there’s no need to panic,” said Will Snyder, manager at the St. Louis Science Center McDonnell Planetarium. “You don’t need to go out and buy all the toilet paper or anything.”
NASA delays launch of DART asteroid defense mission | Space
NASA has delayed the launch of its first-ever planetary defense mission aimed at deflecting potentially hazardous asteroids from colliding with Earth.
The mission, called Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), will send a spacecraft to test crash into the near-Earth binary asteroid system called Didymos, in 2022. NASA announced Feb. 17 that this year's primary launch window of July 21 to Aug. 24 is no longer an option. Instead, the space agency is targeting a backup window that opens Nov. 24 and runs to Feb. 15, 2022, according to a statement from NASA .
Planetary defense plan activated: astronomers appeal to observe Apophis asteroid, which will
Thus, Apophis has been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid -PHA- , since, in 2029, it is expected to pass 31,860 kilometers away from the Earth's surface.
* * *
Observing Apophis, the "god of chaos," is a vitally important action for the Earth, as the asteroid belongs to the subgroup of those that pass dangerously close to the planet, known as Aton asteroids .
In addition, many of them are categorized as potentially hazardous and, specifically, Apophis has a diameter of 340 meters , which poses a greater risk.
The Apophis Asteroid Can Be Seen Over the Hudson Valley Tonight
If you're up late Sunday night, there is a chance you'll see an asteroid as it makes a close pass near the Earth. Pix 11 is reporting that the asteroid known as Apophis will be visible in the night sky at around 11:50 P.M. 99942 Apophis is a near Earth asteroid, with a diameter of around 1,000 feet across, that was discovered in 2004. Some scientists were initially concerned upon its discovery that the rock could strike Earth in the year 2029.
Scientists say you'll want to look towards the south right before midnight, to see the passing asteroid. You'll want to be in an open area and away from any city lights. of course, a telescope will help. The forecast across the Hudson Valley is calling for increasing clouds late, as the the next winter system moves in by Monday. However, the cloud cover shouldn't really affect the region until after midnight, so we should be good to go.
Happening on Twitter
Dinosaurs WERE wiped out by an asteroid, crater dust confirms https://t.co/eemBS8tDjZ MailOnline Wed Feb 24 21:15:13 +0000 2021
Asteroid dust found in #crater closes case of dinosaur extinction @utaustin @ScienceAdvances https://t.co/9QeVIj60sw physorg_com Wed Feb 24 19:00:03 +0000 2021
Scientists have found a key piece of evidence that definitively links the extinction of the dinosaurs with an aster… https://t.co/ywSbupogAb txgeosciences (from Austin, Texas) Wed Feb 24 20:20:29 +0000 2021
Scientists have evidence definitively linking dinosaurs' extinction to 11.2km-wide asteroid that struck 66 million… https://t.co/HAodcqgWIh australian (from Sydney, Australia) Thu Feb 25 07:00:00 +0000 2021
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