Scientists have a new theory for what killed the dinosaurs

American researchers have a new theory about how something hit the Earth and caused the dinosaurs to die.

Scientists usually agree on where the effect happened about 65 million years ago. A major object is said to have hit an area off the coast of Mexico today. Astronauts have said the cause of the strike was the most likely strike asteroid no a comet.

In recent years, researchers have provided evidence that the effect was caused by an asteroid. The theory suggests that the asteroid came from an area between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

But a study by two astronauts from Harvard University introduces a new theory: the crash was caused by a comet. The researchers say the comet came from a frozen area debris on the edge of the solar system. The area is known as Oort cloud.

Their theory states that the comet was pulled into the solar system by the weight of Jupiter. The comet then came very close to the sun, who tidal force made him break up into pieces. The researchers believe that one of the pieces went into the place named by scientists in Mexico.

The team based its theory on a model created to predict the probability of a long-range comet from an Oort cloud hitting Earth. Long-term comets take more than 200 years to orbit the sun.

Because comets come from frozen areas of the outer solar system, they are superior to asteroids. They are notorious for leaving long stretches of gas and dust as they melt.

The new study was published in Scientific Reports. The lead author was Amir Siraj, an astronomy student at Harvard. “Jupiter is so important because it is the largest planet in our solar system,” he told the French news agency AFP.

Siraj said the findings showed that Jupiter ‘s massive impact is pushing “these long – distance comets into orbits that will bring them very close to the sun. “The comets experience a tidal force from the sun” that would be the greatest of them all trembling into a mile crumbs, ”He said. Each of these fragments would be large enough to produce a crater the size of a Mexican site, he said.

That massive impact is estimated to have equated to the strength of about 10 billion nuclear bombs. NASA’s U.S. Space Agency has estimated that the strike created a massive crater about 180 kilometers wide and 900 meters deep.

The incident is believed to have caused widespread wildfires, earthquakes and sea waves. It also released chemicals into the atmosphere, leading to extreme cooling. Scientists blame the event for destroying more than 70 percent of plant and animal life. In addition, all dinosaurs that did not resemble birds died.

The researchers say their theory can be confirmed by further study of the crater in Mexico, as well as possibly those on the moon. In addition, space researchers may be sent to gather comet materials for study.

The study also suggests that similar effects can be expected to hit the Earth about once every 250 to 730 million years. But the other lead researcher on the project, Harvard professor Avi Loeb, noted that this is only an estimate.

“You don’t know when the next one will come,” he said. “The best way to find out is to study the skies. ”

My name is Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for Learning English, based on reports from Agence France-Presse and The Harvard Gazette. It was Mario Ritter, Jr. the editor.

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Words in this story

effect – n. an activity or event in which something hits something else

asteroid – n. space rock, that can be small or the size of a large moon, which revolves around the sun

comet – n. an outdoor object made of a substance such as gas and ice that is left in orbit as it approaches the sun

debris – n. pieces left over after something has fallen apart

tidal force – n. secondary gravitational force with two objects

trembling – v. suddenly breaking into many pieces

crumb – n. a broken piece of something that was once bigger

crater – n. a round hole made by an explosive force such as a bomb or an object falling from the sky