This concentrated band lies between planets Mars and Jupiter, with its contents usually kept in place by the forces of gravity. Prior to crashing into Earth, the extinction-causing asteroid orbited the sun with others, in the main asteroid belt. The observations of 130,000 model asteroids, along with data and behaviour seen in other known impactors, found that objects are 10 times more likely to reach Earth from the outer asteroid belt than previously thought. Researchers used computer models to analyse how asteroids are pulled from their orbit in different areas of the asteroid belt and drawn towards planets. It is widely accepted that this explosive force created was responsible for the mass extinction that ended the Mesozoic era.

After its sudden contact with Earth, the asteroid wiped out not only the dinosaurs, but around 75 percent of the planet's animal species. reports: Known as the Chicxulub impactor, this large object has an estimated width of 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) and produced a crater in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula that spans 90 miles (145 kilometers). The asteroid credited with the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago is likely to have originated from the outer half of the solar system's main asteroid belt, according to new research by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI).