New research sheds light on dinosaur death day

For the first time, we have a detailed picture of what happened in the 24 hours following the strike of an asteroid on Earth 65 million years ago and that caused extinction of dinosaurs.

A research team led by the University of Texas at Austin made these new discoveries using rocks found off the Yucatan Peninsula. They found that the explosion had triggered a chaotic day of fires, earthquakes and tsunamis, resulting in a prolonged period of global cooling.

The new research allows scientists "to get a very clear overview" of what happened that day, according to Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. "It's the most hectic day, almost in the history of the planet."

This snapshot is sinister. Pitts said that the asteroid was six miles wide – and that when he touched Earth, he created a crater 90 miles wide and 18 miles deep that projected 25 trillion tons of materials in the atmosphere.

The new research has shown scientists that the impact "has created a huge tidal wave that has swept across this continent and has really changed the face of the planet there – or, in fact, has completely changed the face of the planet as a whole, "Pitts said.

The place where the asteroid hit is the key, he said. "If the asteroid had not reached this place at that time, it could have been very different for the planet," he said. "This particular impact region at that time created this world that we have now because it has changed the planet … If it had hit elsewhere, we could have had a different planet."

The research also showed that the event was not isolated – and that another asteroid could hit.

There is good news: even though small asteroids could still cause problems, Pitts is convinced that a major asteroid will not head to Earth any time soon. "I am convinced that there is not one who is heading towards us," Pitts said. "And we have made a very good assessment of what is happening, there is still work to be done – but we know that there will be no more planet killers in the next thousand years."