NASA Releases Image of Crater from Asteroid that Killed the Dinosaurs

NASA has released an orbital image from an impact crater on the Yucatan Peninsula, reportedly from the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs: “The existence of the impact crater, Chicxulub, was first proposed in 1980. In the 1990s, satellite data and ground studies allowed it to gain prominence among most scientists as the long sought-after “smoking gun” responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs and more than 70 percent of Earth’s living species 65 million years ago.”

—NASA Releases Image of Crater from Asteroid that Killed the DinosaursNASA)

Note how the press release I’ve linked to buries the crater impact story after not one but two paragraphs glorifying the “Shuttle Radar Topography Mission”. You can see that National Geographic‘s version of the crater story cuts right to the important stuff. This release is good timing, since public confidence in NASA (and possibly in technology in general) has been shaken.