What Exactly Killed The Dinosaurs? | Earth | BBC Earth Science?

The dinosaurs were wiped out by a big space rock that hit Earth a long time ago.

Imagine you're playing outside and a giant boulder falls from the sky, thud! That’s what happened, but with a space rock, which is like a super big meteor. It crashed into the ocean near where today's Mexico is, making a huge wave that went around the world.

This space rock also made a lot of dust and smoke go up in the air, blocking out the sun for a long time. Without much sunlight, plants couldn’t grow very well, and animals started to struggle too, including the dinosaurs.

It was like when you cover your lamp with a blanket, everything gets darker and cooler. The dinosaurs had no idea what hit them!

After the space rock hit, it took a while for things to go back to normal. Some animals survived because they were small or could hide underground or in water, like tiny mammals who later grew into bigger animals, including humans!