Some think that the ten-kilometre meteorite that created it threw so much dust into the atmosphere that it blotted out the sun and led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

ECONOMIST: The ultimate environmental catastrophe

One of the theories put forward to explain the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago is that they were wiped out by the catastrophic impact of a large asteroid.

BBC: Asteroid impact centre site selected

And it is hoped that there will be numerous things to find from these discoveries, including further clues as to what caused the untimely extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago - the most prominent theory being that it was the result of an asteroid hitting the Earth on what is now the coast of Mexico.

BBC: NEWS | Science/Nature | Golden age of dino finds forecast

In truth, agreement on the cause of the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous (when not only the dinosaurs, but also a host of other species died) has never been as cut and dried among palaeontologists as it may have appeared to the public.

ECONOMIST: Mass extinctions

To put the potential for damage by an asteroid into perspective, the one that paleontologists believe triggered the extinction of dinosaurs on Earth 65 million years ago was six miles in diameter.

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