The collision occurred with a force equivalent to billions of explosions, like the one that unleashed hell on Nagasaki in 1945, in the form of an atomic bomb. Nearly 66 million years ago, an asteroid with a diameter of 10 km broke the shield of Earth’s atmosphere. The next story is known. Within hours, dust and dirt blocked the sun’s light and fires ravaged the planet. Inestimable amounts of CO2 choked the atmosphere. Acid rains fell across the landscape. The Cretaceous-Paleogene K-Pg extinction, as it is now known, killed about 75% of species, both terrestrial and marine. Today, an open wound remains from the ancestral impact on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Discovered in 1978, the Chicxulub crater, with its more than 180 km diameter, is a geological reminder of the zero point of the tragedy that engulfed the Earth.
Source: DN
