Dinosaurs were very large creatures that lived on Earth and ruled from about 240 million years ago to 66 million years ago, before humans existed. They were so tall that they were even higher than the tallest buildings. But why did they disappear? How did they die?
Scientists believe that the main reason dinosaurs became extinct is because of a giant asteroid that hit Earth about 65 million years ago. As the asteroid approached the planet, it turned into a huge fireball because it was moving extremely fast. When this fast-moving rock (the asteroid) entered Earth’s atmosphere (the layer of air around our planet), it started to burn up due to friction. Friction is like when you rub your hands together quickly and they get warm. The brightness of the fireball was so intense that thousands of creatures were blinded by it before it even hit the Earth.
Shortly after, the asteroid hit the ground near the Gulf of Mexico, causing a massive explosion with temperatures reaching around 35,000 degrees Celsius. The impact was so powerful that it threw rocks the size of buildings into the sky and sent huge clouds of dust into the atmosphere. This terrible disaster caused forest fires, super-powerful earthquakes, and 90-meter-high ocean waves. Most creatures on Earth died immediately after the asteroid struck. In the days and months that followed, the dust and thick fog blocked the Sun’s warmth, making it very dark outside, even during the day, and causing the Earth to become very cold. As a result, plants couldn’t survive. Because the plants were dying, plant-eating animals also began to die, and without plant-eaters, the meat-eaters died off too. This is how the age of the dinosaurs came to a sudden end. The asteroid impact caused a massive extinction event, disrupting life on Earth and leading to the end of the dinosaurs.
