Of course, this hole, which did not form for no reason, caused a lot of impact and events. Maybe if that hole hadn’t formed; The world could now be a completely different place, with completely different creatures and different climates.
So when and how did this hole that changed the “fate” of our planet form? What effects did it have? How big is it actually? We went back 66 million years and explained all the answers for you.
Clues to pre-human history are hidden in Xico Crater.
Xico Crater, also known as Chicxulub Crater, is one of the largest known impact craters on land and has a significant impact on the fossil record and geological data.
By examining this crater, which was formed 66 million years ago, scientists from past to present can better understand the geological and climatic history of our planet and make more accurate predictions to shed light on the past.
An object from space, whose identity is still unknown, fell to Earth.
According to scientists’ estimates, a meteor or asteroid (solar system bodies that move around the Sun, also called minor planets, and are larger than meteoroids and smaller than dwarf planets) with a diameter of almost 10 kilometers entered our planet’s atmosphere at a high speed and It crashed somewhere near Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
The steroid, or meteor, was much faster and larger than we could have predicted. That’s why it heated up due to friction in the atmosphere and exploded!
When the object fell, a tremendous energy explosion occurred. This explosion was so large that it both threw rocks above the land into the air and vaporized under the temperature and pressure at the surface.
To the atmosphere; Fire, tsunami and dust spread. These gases and dusts led to greater consequences. The passage of sunlight was blocked and the Earth cooled, causing climate changes.
While surface-dwelling creatures such as dinosaurs disappeared within a few weeks at most, mammals that lived in more hidden places or hibernated survived and replaced the giant reptiles. In other words, evolution was given a new direction.
Such a huge impact caused the formation of the pit we mentioned.
This explosion collapsed almost the entire ecological system and destroyed an estimated 75% to 95% of the living species on our planet, including dinosaurs; It opened a hole 20 km deep and 180 km in diameter.
In short; changed the course of our scientific, historical and evolutionary past! According to National Geographic, the intensity of the collision that caused the formation of the crater was 100,000 times greater than the power of all nuclear weapons in the world.
It is a matter of curiosity whether the rock pieces that were thrown to other planets due to the explosion survived in their places.
It is known that rocks with the potential to harbor life reached Mars billions of years ago. According to some scientists, when searching for life on the moons of other planets, it should also be examined whether the biological material may belong to another branch of the family tree on Earth.
Organisms that jump from Earth to other planets may burn during landing or fall into uninhabitable terrain, but even if there is a possibility, it seems worth investigating!
Finally; Type “Chicxulub Crater” into Google and search, you will be face to face with a meteor passing through your screen!
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