London — Scientists have determined the angle of impact for the asteroid that contributed to the dinosaurs' extinction 66 million years ago, according to a study in Nature Communications.<br /><br />Writing on behalf of the researchers, Imperial College London says in a news release that the asteroid had struck "at the deadliest possible" angle for life on Earth.<br /><br />Using geological data from the Chicxulub crater in Mexico in a computer model, scientists calculated the space rock's angle of attack at 60 degrees.<br /><br />The asteroid with its steep impact angle reached sulfur, carbonates and water deep in the Earth.<br /><br />The vapors and debris were flung into the atmosphere and triggered a nuclear winter that wiped out the dinosaurs.<br /><br />The researchers found asymmetries between the centers of the mountains inside the crater, the crater's physical center point, and the center of uplifted mantle 30 km beneath the surface. <br /><br />Scientists then worked backward to model the asteroid's impact.
