New Clues Found Regarding Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid

When a huge asteroid crashed into the Earth about 65 million years ago, the dinosaur era came to an end, leaving a massive crater in the process.

However, the mysterious crater posed many questions. To understand it better, scientists drilled down part of it in the Gulf of Mexico, pushing about 1,335 meters under the sea floor. They were able to retrieve samples that according to News Australia helped them study the dynamics of the impact -- reporting that the asteroid may have even provided spaces for new life to form on our planet.

The study's main author, Joanna Morgan, a professor at the Imperial College London said in a statement, "It is hard to believe that the same forces that destroyed the dinosaurs may have also played a part, much earlier on in Earth's history, in providing the first refuges for early life on the planet." She also added that her team is hoping that further analyses of the samples could provide more insights into life in the subterranean environments, reported Alpha Galileo.

But how is this possible?

The Imperial College London said that the "refuges" for new species existed because the impact made rocks more porous -- and porous rocks are known to have water circulating through, making it an ideal place for organisms to grow. The theory also implies that previous asteroid impacts in the early history of the Earth could have the same effect on rocks, giving life a space for growth and development a long time ago.

Times of India also added that the impact may have nearly punctured the Earth's crust, thereby causing the surface of the planet to behave like a slow-moving fluid. Still, the findings associated with the crash can shed some light as to how such things can impact and reshape planets and even generate new habitats for life on the planet.