Ocean-vaporizing impacts of chemically reduced planetesimals onto the early Earth have been suggested to catalyse atmospheric production of reduced nitrogen compounds and trigger prebiotic synthesis despite an oxidized lithosphere.
Impact events
Posted inImpact events, Press Release
Asteroid Impact, Schumann Resonances And The End Of The Dinosaurs
We estimate the expected magnitudes of the Schumann resonance fields immediately after the Chicxulub impact and show that they exceed their present-day values by about 5×104 times. Long-term distortion of […]
Posted inImpact events, Press Release
Atmospheric Erosion By Giant Impacts Onto Terrestrial Planets: A Scaling Law for any Speed, Angle, Mass, and Density
We present a new scaling law to predict the loss of atmosphere from planetary collisions for any speed, angle, impactor mass, target mass, and body compositions, in the regime of […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extinction events, Impact events, Press Release, Proxima Centauri
Risks For Life On Proxima b From Sterilizing Asteroid Impacts
We consider the implications that a debris belt located between Proxima b and Proxima c would pose for the rate of large asteroid impacts that could sterilize Proxima b from […]
Posted inImpact events, Press Release
Asteroid Impact Enriches Certain Elements In Seawater
Asteroid strikes upset the environment and provide clues via the elements they leave behind. Now, University of Tsukuba researchers have linked elements that are enriched in the Cretaceous-Paleogene (KPg) boundary […]
Posted inImpact events, Press Release
Europe's Largest Meteorite Crater Was Home To Deep Ancient Life
Fractured rocks of impact craters have been suggested to host deep microbial communities on Earth, and potentially other terrestrial planets, yet direct evidence remains elusive. In a new study published […]
Posted inImpact events, Press Release
Rocks At Asteroid Impact Site Record First Day Of Dinosaur Extinction
When the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs slammed into the planet, the impact set wildfires, triggered tsunamis and blasted so much sulfur into the atmosphere that it blocked the […]