It was a long and arduous debate as to how the dinosaurs that once ruled Earth have disappeared from the face of the planet all of a sudden some 65 million years ago.

After studying the evidence accumulated for 20 years, a group of 41 scientists confirmed that it was indeed an asteroid that destroyed all species of dinosaurs leading to the Cretaceous-Tertiary (KT) extinction.

Other scientists used to argue that the dinosaurs including flying and sea-dwelling reptiles and died due to a series of volcanic eruptions in the Deccan Traps which filled the Black Sea with basalt lava by almost half, cooled the atmosphere and caused acid rain. This process was thought to occur for almost 2 million years.

However, evidence showed that the KT extinction happened fast and it could not have been a gradual event. This led to scientists ruling out the Deccan Traps theory. The scientists also said that the effects of the volcanism were not enough to wipe out plants and animal species even for a longer duration.

The asteroid that hit the Earth during that time had a speed 20 times faster than a bullet and a force a billion times stronger than that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. It measured about 15 kilometers and made an impact into the area which is now Chicxulub in Mexico.

The scientists concluded that the impact of the asteroid triggered huge fires, earthquakes with magnitudes over 10 and large tsunamis.

According to Gareth Collins, a researcher from Imperial College and co-author of the study, any living creature near the impact location was instantly killed.

The scientists’ conclusion was also based on the fact that the quartz found in rock layers at KT boundary levels all throughout the globe appeared to be “shocked.” This phenomenon is caused when quartz quickly smashed with a colossal force such as a massive asteroid.