A viral video has been circulating on social media to help visualize the staggering proportions of the asteroid, the dino-killer that struck Earth 66 million years ago. The video underlays the asteroid-estimated at 6 to 9 miles wide-onto a modern cityscape, dwarfing skyscrapers as it approaches.
The significant impact off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula triggered fireballs, mega-tsunamis, global firestorms, and a decade-long “impact winter" that collapsed the food chain and wiped out 75% of species, including non-avian dinosaurs.
While many people are awed by the scale and science-backed by fossils and the 200-kilometer crater, young-Earth creationists counter with Noah’s flood claims. Meanwhile, fringe views deny the asteroid’s existence entirely or link oil to “infinite abiotic” sources rather than ancient plankton.
The asteroid that ended the era of dinosaurs wasn't planet sized. It was about 10-12km wide at roughly 20km per second, releasing energy equivalent to billions of nuclear bombs. People always get intrigued and imagine it as a tiny pebble in comparison to Earth, as this visual perspective hits completely differently. Nonetheless, the event was a reset button for the planet, the scale of this disaster opened the evolutionary path for mammals and eventually allowed humans to thrive.