An asteroid hits Earth and darkness falls.  New discoveries by scientists

About 66 million years ago, an asteroid about 10 kilometers in diameter struck the area of ​​the present-day Yucatán Peninsula, releasing energy equivalent to 100 trillion tons of TNT.

Scientists have long wondered how this event caused rapid climate change. Some point to sulfur particles from evaporated sedimentary rocks, others to soot from global fires or dust from Yucatán rocks crushed by impact.

New research suggests that the most lethal effect of the impact was dust. While soot and sulfur contributed to global darkness and a long winter that halted photosynthesis for about two years, fine granite dust crushed by the impact remained in the atmosphere for up to 15 years. The asteroid impact led to an extinction spiral that claimed 75% of lives. All terrestrial species.

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