Asteroid which wiped out dinosaurs ‘exploded with force of 10 billion atomic bombs’

Rob Waugh,Yahoo News UK

Scientists have thrown light on the day when a giant asteroid smashed into our planet – unleashing a terrible firestorm which blotted out the sun, and killed the dinoaurs.

Scientists dug retrieved cores 4,265 feet (1,300m) below the submerged ‘Chicxulub’ crater, where an asteroid hit Earth 66 million years ago.

It revealed proof of an explosion with the force of 10 billion atomic bombs of the size used in World War II.

The charcoal, granite and other sediments revealed details of how the impact unleashed huge tsunamis and wildfires across the planet – along with a cloud of sulphur which blotted out the sun.

Professor Sean Gulick, a geoscientist at The University of Texas at Austin, said: ‘They are all part of a rock record that offers the most detailed look yet into the aftermath of the catastrophe that ended the Age of Dinosaurs.’

Three quarters of animal species were wiped out – including the dinosaurs.

Some were burned alive or drowned – but most shivered and starved to death.

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