Chicxulub Crater - Impact Specifics

Impact Specifics

The impactor had an estimated diameter of 10 km (6.2 mi) and delivered an estimated energy equivalent of 100 teratons of TNT (4.2×1023 J). By contrast, the most powerful man-made explosive device ever detonated, the Tsar Bomba, had a yield of only 50 megatons of TNT (2.1×1017 J), making the Chicxulub impact 2 million times more powerful. Even the most energetic known volcanic eruption, which released approximately 240 gigatons of TNT (1×1021 J) and created the La Garita Caldera, was substantially less powerful than the Chicxulub impact.

Read more about this topic:  Chicxulub Crater

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