Chicxulubs

Chicxulubs refers to the Chicxulub impactor, the asteroid or comet that is widely believed to have caused the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event approximately 66 million years ago. This catastrophic event led to the demise of an estimated 75% of all plant and animal species on Earth, including all non-avian dinosaurs.

The impactor is thought to have been an object roughly 10 to 15 kilometers (6 to 9 miles) in diameter. It struck the Earth in what is now the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, creating an enormous impact crater. The Chicxulub crater, buried beneath sediments, is estimated to be around 180 kilometers (110 miles) in diameter.

The immediate effects of the impact were devastating. A massive shockwave radiated outwards, and intense heat ignited widespread wildfires. Tsunamis of unprecedented scale swept across coastlines. In the longer term, vast amounts of dust and debris were ejected into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight and causing a prolonged period of global cooling. This "impact winter" severely disrupted photosynthesis, leading to the collapse of food chains.

While the Chicxulub impact is the leading hypothesis for the K-Pg extinction, other factors, such as massive volcanic activity in the Deccan Traps in India, may have also played a contributing role or weakened ecosystems prior to the impact. However, the timing and scale of the evidence strongly favor the impactor as the primary driver of the mass extinction.