THE Earth suffered a double blow 65 million years ago. Not only was Mexico's Yucatán peninsula hit by a 10-kilometre diameter asteroid, but the rock hit at the worst possible angle, claim two American researchers. This may explain why the impact was so devastating, wiping out the dinosaurs.
In paper to be published next month in the journal
The angle of impact is crucial, say Schultz and D'Hondt, because it affects the distribution of impact energy. A head-on impact concentrates energy downwards into the target rock, but a shallower blow scatters debris along ...
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