Impact/Antipode Image (IMAGE)
Caption
The Princeton model shows (at left) that the structure of the Earth's surface at the time of the meteorite impact that caused the Chicxulub crater in Mexico would have placed the Deccan Traps in India far west of the crater's antipodal point, instead of directly opposite of the impact. Correspondingly, the model shows (at right) that the meteorite struck far east of the antipodal point for the Deccan Traps, which are remnants of large volcanoes thought to have contributed to the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period. The model also revealed that the Chicxulub impact, when the Earth's surface and shape are considered, would have likely been too small to cause the Deccan Traps.
Credit
Images by Conor Myhrvold
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