If you’re curious about dinosaur history, recent research has made a surprising discovery!
Scientists have confirmed that the enormous asteroid responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago had a companion.
As per BBC, smaller asteroid crashed into the ocean near the West African coast, creating a large crater around the same time.
This event would have triggered a catastrophic tsunami that might have reached heights of at least 800 meters across the Atlantic Ocean.
Dr. Uisdean Nicholson from Heriot-Watt University first discovered the Nadir crater in 2022, but there was uncertainty about its formation.
Now, his team are confident that the 9-kilometer-wide depression was created by an asteroid hitting the ocean floor.
Dr. Nicholson said, “Imagine the asteroid was hitting Glasgow and you’re in Edinburgh, around 50 km away. The fireball would be about 24 times the size of the Sun in the sky – enough to set trees and plants on fire in Edinburgh.”
Following the impact, a loud air blast would have occurred, followed by seismic activity comparable to a magnitude 7 earthquake.
Huge amounts of water likely surged from the seabed and then cascaded back down, leaving unique marks on the ocean floor.
Moreover, the asteroid that formed the Nadir crater is estimated to have been around 450 to 500 meters wide and struck Earth at approximately 72,000 kilometers per hour.
The Nadir asteroid is similar in size to Bennu, which is currently considered the most hazardous object in orbit near Earth.
