The asteroid strikes
Ten kilometres of rock at 20 km/s — the dinosaurs' last day
See it on the timeline →In depth
The Chicxulub crater on the Yucatán is 180 km across. The impact released energy equivalent to billions of Hiroshima bombs, threw glowing ejecta into orbit that rained back as thermal radiation, and vaporised sulphur-rich rock that produced a global winter. The worldwide iridium layer was the evidence Luis and Walter Alvarez presented in 1980. Around three-quarters of all species vanished. Mammals, who had lived in the dinosaurs' shadow for 160 million years, inherited the planet.
For children
An asteroid the size of a mountain town hit Earth where Mexico is today. The impact set off wildfires around the globe, and the dust blocked the Sun for years. Without sunlight the plants died, and without plants the dinosaurs died. Only small animals made it through — including our ancestors.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org