On a spring day 66 million years ago, an asteroid 12 km wide struck Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. It left a crater 180 km wide. But more than that, it triggered a calamity that wiped off about three-quarters of Earth's species.
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End of dinosaurs, mammals dominate
Among those who plunged to extinction were the dinosaurs - who then ruled the Earth. This eventually paved the way for mammals, including humans, to become dominant.
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Hit during springtime
Piecing together the fossils of the time from a place called Tanis in North Dakota, that it was springtime in the northern hemisphere the day the asteroid hit.
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The great destruction
The asteroid rocked the continental plate, generated earthquakes, sparked extensive wildfires, unleashed a massive shockwave in the air and seismic waves on the ground. It also spawned massive standing waves called seiche waves - perhaps hundreds of yards tall - that inundated most areas.
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Catastrophe lasted years
The peril did not end that day. A cloud of dust enrobed Earth, precipitating a climate catastrophe akin to a "nuclear winter" that blocked sunlight for perhaps years, which caused the extinction of countless species. That the destruction struck in spring - time of growth and reproduction for many organisms - hastened the end.
