An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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An object having an estimated mass between 1.0 × 10¹⁵ and 4.6 × 10¹⁷ kg, which struck the Earth at the → Cretaceous-Tertiary event about 65 million years ago. It was probably an → asteroid 10 km in diameter with a velocity of roughly 20 km per sec at an angle of just under 60°. The collision created the → Chicxulub crater. The event was responsible for eliminating approximately 70 percent of all species of animals at or very close to the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods.

→ Chicxulub crater; → impactor.