THE ASTEROID THAT KILLED THE DINOSAURS COULD HAVE HAD A COMPANION

[Judi Lynn]

IgorZh/Shutterstock

BY C. MORRIS/OCT. 4, 2022 5:25 PM EDT

The story of the dinosaur-killing asteroid is getting a new chapter. Until recently, the prevailing theory for the demise of the dinosaurs focused on a single asteroid colliding with the Earth just off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula (per the University of Arizona).

Modern scientists theorize that the asteroid's impact was world-changing. Evidence suggests that the asteroid measured 10 kilometers wide (a little over six miles), says Science News. According to Popular Mechanics, when the asteroid collided with the Earth, the impact created a 100-million-megaton blast, sparking a flash-like surge in temperatures, reaching as high as 10,000 degrees. The sudden heat caused massive wildfires, adds Smithsonian Magazine. The resulting fires "sent soot traveling all around the world," explains London History Museum's Professor Paul Barrett. "It didn't completely block out the Sun, but it reduced the amount of light that reached the Earth's surface. So it had an impact on plant growth," he said.

The soot covered the sky for 18 months, says Inverse. The near-constant nighttime wreaked havoc on the Earth's ecosystems, followed by a 5-10 year freeze. The initial blast and the following decade of environmental upheaval killed 75% of the Earth's species, including all nonbird dinosaurs (via ScienceNews). The asteroid left a massive crater named Chicxulub that runs along the Yucatan's northern coast and into the Gulf of Mexico. Chicxulub measures 90 miles wide and 12 miles deep, according to Space.com. Now researchers think that the asteroid may not have been alone.

AN ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY



On August 17, 2022, researchers announced that they'd made a surprising discovery 250 miles off the coast of West Africa — near Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. The geologist, Uisdean Nicholson of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, had been studying the North Atlantic Ocean's floor, reports the University of Arizona. He and his team hoped to find information about the supercontinent's separation into the American and African continents (per ScienceNews). According to Popular Mechanics, Nicholson and his team used underground seismic wave data similar to ultrasound technology.

Read More: https://www.grunge.com/1038475/the-asteroid-that-killed-the-dinosaurs-could-have-had-a-companion/?utm_campaign=clip