00:00It happened 66 million years ago – hey, it could've been September!
00:04A massive asteroid slammed into Earth, bringing along chaos and devastation.
00:10The tragic aftermath of the terrifying collision led to the extinction of dinosaurs.
00:14Yes, I'm talking about the Chicxulub asteroid that left a massive crater in Mexico and changed
00:21life on Earth forever.
00:23And now, it turns out it wasn't the only cosmic rock to hit our planet during that
00:27time.
00:29Astronomers have just confirmed there was another asteroid.
00:32This second space rock wasn't as big as Chicxulub, but it still packed a punch.
00:37It crashed to the ground off the coast of West Africa, smashing into the ocean and leaving
00:42a crater called the Nader Crater.
00:44And tell you what, it wasn't a small splash.
00:47The impact was so powerful, it triggered a whole tsunami.
00:51It was more than 2,600 feet high – almost as high as the Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made
00:56structure in the world.
00:58How did we come to the conclusion that there was a second impact?
01:02This researcher spotted the Nader Crater in 2022.
01:06Dr. Nicholson was looking for some high-tech scans of the ocean floor when he noticed a
01:11massive 5.5-mile-wide depression under almost 1,000 feet of water.
01:16Well, he thought it could be an asteroid impact crater.
01:19But at the time, the evidence he had wasn't solid.
01:23But now, scientists have confirmed that this is the real deal – a second asteroid did
01:28hit Earth during the dinosaur extinction era.
01:31Now, let's see how they figured all this out.
01:34For one thing, there were those super high-resolution 3D seismic images.
01:38They allowed researchers to peel back layers of the ocean floor and get a crystal-clear
01:43look at the crater.
01:44It was like going from a blurry old ultrasound to the kind of 3D scans where you can see
01:49every little feature.
01:51The findings confirmed that the crater was left by an asteroid – somewhere between
01:551,500 to 1,640 feet wide.
01:59And it didn't just create a hole in the ground.
02:01The impact was so intense that it produced a central peak, formed escalating ridges around
02:06the crater, and even left a damage zone that stretched out for thousands of miles.
02:12Using those super-detailed images, the scientists have managed to reconstruct what happened
02:16right after the asteroid hit the surface of our planet.
02:20First, it slammed into the ocean, creating an initial bowl-shaped crater.
02:25As the shockwave spread, the seabed was shaken so violently that it triggered landslides.
02:31And the soft sediment surrounding the crater collapsed inward, creating a noticeable brim.
02:36As you already know, the impact also triggered a tsunami, and it was so shockingly powerful
02:42that its waves didn't just go outward – they actually turned back towards the crater, leaving
02:47huge scars on the ocean floor.
02:49And this wasn't just one big wave – no, it was a whole series of them – a train
02:54of tsunamis smashing everything in their path.
02:57This second asteroid impact is a huge deal for scientists.
03:01It's a rare opportunity to study a marine impact crater in such incredible detail.
03:07There are only about 20 confirmed marine craters in the world, and none of them have been captured
03:11with this level of precision before.
03:14Plus, this data allows scientists to test new ideas about how craters form in water.
03:20You see, unlike craters on land, marine craters are hidden under layers of sediment, which
03:24makes them tricky to study.
03:27But with this new 3D imaging, we can look at the crater in all its layers.
03:31It's like slicing into a cake to see what's inside.
03:35Dr. Nicholson and his team are now dreaming of drilling into the crater and recovering
03:39samples from deep below the ocean floor.
03:42This would allow them to measure the shock pressure during the impact and figure out
03:46what happened in the minutes, hours, and days following the collision.
03:51Of course, the Chicxulub asteroid is still the star of the show when it comes to the
03:55dinosaur's extinction.
03:56This space traveler was giant – somewhere between 6 and 9 miles wide.
04:02It hit Earth at a devastating angle, sending vaporized rock and gas into the atmosphere.
04:07It caused an impact winter that lasted for 15 years because all that stuff blocked out
04:13the Sun and plunged Earth into darkness.
04:17Probably the most intriguing thing is that some experts think the Nader asteroid might
04:22have been a chunk that had broken off from Chicxulub before it hit Earth.
04:26It's still just a theory, but if true, it could mean that Earth got hit by a double
04:31whammy from space.
04:33Now let's travel back in time to the year 1908 in Siberia.
04:38Look around – you see nothing but trees and rivers.
04:41And suddenly, a huge object, around 150 to 300 feet in diameter, dashes through the Earth's
04:47atmosphere.
04:48Is it a comet?
04:49An asteroid?
04:50Scientists aren't sure.
04:52What they do know for sure is that this intruder blew up in the sky over Tunguska, leading
04:57to one of the most powerful blasts in recorded history.
05:00It completely leveled the forest below, knocking out 80 million trees over an area of around
05:06830 square miles.
05:08And that's an area larger than that of cities like Los Angeles or New York.
05:12The trees were literally flattened, and their trunks were stripped of branches.
05:17They were also arranged in a bizarre radial pattern around the epicenter.
05:22But what if this explosion had happened over a city?
05:25Every single building would've been destroyed, and countless lives would've been lost.
05:30Luckily, this disaster occurred in a super-remote part of Siberia.
05:34The creepiest thing, though?
05:36When scientists finally reached the area years later, they found no impact crater.
05:41No wonder it led to even more mystery.
05:43The most logical explanation is that when the object went off in the sky, probably around
05:483 to 6 miles above the ground, it blew up before it could hit the ground.
05:53And still, it didn't stop the blast from leveling an entire forest.
05:59Fast forward to 2013, and another mind-blowing event.
06:02This time, over a much more populated area – the city of Chelyabinsk.
06:07It was a regular February morning when an asteroid about 60 feet in diameter entered
06:12Earth's atmosphere, lighting up the sky.
06:15It was moving at a staggering speed of around 43,000 mph.
06:19It blew up in mid-air, about 18 miles above the city.
06:23It was a horrific view, but luckily, the asteroid disintegrated high enough in the
06:28atmosphere without hitting the ground.
06:30If it had touched down, the city would've been in big, big trouble.
06:35Because even though there was no direct impact, the explosion still created a shockwave that
06:40tore through the atmosphere, hitting the ground with enough force to shatter windows all over
06:45the place.
06:46The blast damaged around 7,200 buildings, but fortunately, there were no direct fatalities.
06:52Still, it was a major wake-up call.
06:55This wasn't just some far-off cosmic event like Tunguska.
06:59This asteroid exploded over a modern populated area, and the damage was very real.
07:05The good news?
07:06Scientists are getting better at spotting such objects before they get too close.
07:11Space agencies around the world, like NASA, are tracking near-Earth objects to figure
07:16out which ones could pose a risk.
07:19But as we can see from these two events, sometimes, space rocks can still sneak up on us.
07:24And while the chances of a major impact are low, the stakes are really high.
07:29At the moment, there's one asteroid that NASA's keeping an eye on.
07:33It's called Bennu, and it's about the same size as the Nader impactor.
07:37Bennu is considered one of the most hazardous objects in near-Earth orbit.
07:42According to NASA, there's a small chance it could hit the Earth between the years 2178
07:48and 2290.
07:49And the biggest risk date is September 24th, 2182.
07:54But don't freak out just yet!
07:57The odds of the impact are only 1 in 2,700.
08:00But still, it's a reminder that Earth is always in the cosmic firing line.
08:05That's it for today!
08:06So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
08:10friends!
08:11Or, if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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