An individual has a higher chance of getting hit by an asteroid (1 in 700,000) in their lifetime, than they have winning the Powerball (1 in 185,000,000). However, it is still very unlikely, that such an event will happen during our time on Earth. After all, there are between 1.1 and 1.9 million asteroids in the Asteroid Belt, between Mars and Jupiter (“Asteroids: In Depth” 2). Who is to say one of those massive asteroids will not go on a collision course with Earth, and cause another extinction-level event, like the one around 66 million years ago, that wiped the dinosaurs off the face of the Earth?
Asteroids can range from the size of a small rock, to the size of a dwarf-planet. “Currently, the largest asteroids listed to date primarily reside …show more content…
Today, we know this asteroid as the Chicxulub asteroid. This asteroid caused the extinction of most of the dinosaurs on Earth. As stated by Alexander, “Tourists now enjoy the sunshine and warm waters here, but 66 million years ago, it was dinosaurs that claimed their place in the sun” (Alexander 2). The asteroid also caused other chaotic events when it struck the surface of our blue and green planet. As said by Reynolds, “The consequences for everything in the region were terrible, and a years-long nuclear winter kicked dust into the atmosphere, ignited global fires, and played havoc with life on Earth” (Reynolds 1). The asteroid was hurtling towards Earth at around 40,000 miles per hour (a little bit faster than the usual speed for asteroids) and slammed into the Earth with around the same force as 90 to100 trillion tons of TNT. As exclaimed by Alexander, “The submerged impact crater spans about 110 miles (180km)” (Alexander 2). However, the asteroid did not kill every single dinosaur, but enough that it made life extremely difficult for the remaining dinosaurs. These factors (small dinosaur population, the very cold temperature of the Earth, and the global fires), killed off the rest of the dinosaur population. However, this is not the only extinction event, just the most
Asteroids can range from the size of a small rock, to the size of a dwarf-planet. “Currently, the largest asteroids listed to date primarily reside …show more content…
Today, we know this asteroid as the Chicxulub asteroid. This asteroid caused the extinction of most of the dinosaurs on Earth. As stated by Alexander, “Tourists now enjoy the sunshine and warm waters here, but 66 million years ago, it was dinosaurs that claimed their place in the sun” (Alexander 2). The asteroid also caused other chaotic events when it struck the surface of our blue and green planet. As said by Reynolds, “The consequences for everything in the region were terrible, and a years-long nuclear winter kicked dust into the atmosphere, ignited global fires, and played havoc with life on Earth” (Reynolds 1). The asteroid was hurtling towards Earth at around 40,000 miles per hour (a little bit faster than the usual speed for asteroids) and slammed into the Earth with around the same force as 90 to100 trillion tons of TNT. As exclaimed by Alexander, “The submerged impact crater spans about 110 miles (180km)” (Alexander 2). However, the asteroid did not kill every single dinosaur, but enough that it made life extremely difficult for the remaining dinosaurs. These factors (small dinosaur population, the very cold temperature of the Earth, and the global fires), killed off the rest of the dinosaur population. However, this is not the only extinction event, just the most