66,000,000 years ago, the entire course of history changed in an instant

66,000,000 years ago , a giant asteroid almost 20 kilometers wide, or about twice the size of Mount Everest , smashed into the Earth at 12 miles per second per second .

The asteroid smacked into the Yucatan Peninsula , resulting in a massive explosion that created one of the largest known impact craters on Earth at 93 miles in diameter.

Less than one second later, super heated dust, ash, and steam exploded from the depths of the crater.

Chaos that would wipe out 70% of life on Earth , and chaos that would change our planet forever.

Particles and gases released by the many, perhaps thousands of volcanic eruptions decimated the Earth 's climate.

Poisonous snow fell around the world for years .

Plants and animals that didn't freeze suffocated or starved.

The animals that died on the day of the impact were the lucky ones.

After the impact, the planet began to warm again, now surviving life forms.

There are some scientists, many scientists, who believe that the greatest threat to our civilization is not war or plague or climate change, but another meteor impact.