The dinosaurs may have been wiped out by two asteroids.
Dinosaurs could have been wiped out by two asteroids
A Scottish scientist has identified a six-mile-wide crater off the coast of West Africa, which is thought to have been created by a rock that hit the Earth approximately 66 million years ago.
The crater is believed to have been created at a similar time as the one in the Gulf of Mexico that caused the horrific conditions that drove the dinosaurs to extinction.
The new crater, which has been nicknamed Nadir, looks to have been caused by an asteroid that would have caused a huge tsunami.
Dr. Uisdean Nicholson first spotted the crater in surveys used by the oil and gas industry.
The geologist from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh said: "It definitely fits the bill for an impact crater.
"Nadir's shape is diagnostic of an asteroid impact. It's got a raised rim surrounding a central uplift area, and then layers of debris that extend outwards."