The impact from an asteroid heats up the atmosphere and helps move dust

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It was the dust storm to end all dust storms. When a huge asteroid hit Earth 66 million years ago, triggering a mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs, it sent vast clouds of dust flying tens of kilometres up into the air. We now think these spread around the planet at speeds of up to 6 kilometres per second, cloaking it within hours.

If anyone had watched from space, they would have seen our planet become swathed within just a few hours of …



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