Feb 22 2001
From The Space Library
A team of scientists led by Luann Becker of the University of Washington presented new evidence explaining what had precipitated the Permian-Triassic extinction of 250 million years ago, when 90 percent of life disappeared from Earth. Confirming a long-held hypothesis, the team of researchers had discovered, in ancient sediments spread across the planet, molecules of stardust that only could have come from space. This discovery led scientists to conclude that the impact of a massive comet had triggered the onset of dormancy of life on Earth. The scientists had examined samples from China, Japan, and Hungary, seeking to explain what had happened on Earth. NASA, which had contributed funding for the project, announced the team’s findings at a panel presentation in Washington, DC. (Luann Becker et al., “Impact Event at the Permian-Triassic Boundary: Evidence from Extraterrestrial Noble Gases in Fullerenes,” Science 291, no. 5508 (23 February 2001): 15301533; Guy Gugliotta, “Comet Tied To a Mass Extinction; Sediments Show Earth Was Hit, Scientists Say,” Washington Post, 23 February 2001; NASA, “Next Space Science Update: Trigger Found for Largest Mass Extinction,” news release N01-10, 20 February 2001.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
