Major Developments Major Developments by Calendar Year

March 15, 2010

Scientists Confirmed that Dinosaurs Were Killed by Giant Asteroid

Filed under: Science and Technology — Tags: , — Winson @ 7:05 AM

Scientists have recently confirmed that a giant asteroid that struck the Earth some 65 million years ago killed dinosaurs and 70 percent of other species on earth.

Scientists have been working on this single-impact theory since last 30 years. A research team has gathered huge amounts of evidence that a single asteroid struck the Gulf of Mexico. The asteroid was estimated to be around 6 miles in diameter and traveling around 43,000 mph. A member of this research team said that the impact caused a 24 miles deep and 125 miles wide crater, which was discovered in 1991 in Chicxulub, Mexico.

Scientists said that the impact was so powerful that it is equivalent to a blast from hundred million megatons of TNT, which is more powerful than blasting all the atomic weapons on the Earth at a shot. Scientists say the impact triggered a huge earthquake also.

Other theories also suggested some reasons for this mass extinction. Some suggest that it would have taken many meteorites to cause such a disaster. Another theory suggested that a massive volcanic eruption in India around the same time might have caused this.

Powered by WordPress