Contrasting Theories on the Extinction of Dinosaurs Essay -- Compare C

So what killed the dinosaurs? Without having any background education in science it is hard for the general public to comprehend such matters and they rely on the knowledge of the scientists in this field. Although there has been much research on the subject nobody has come up with a conclusive answer. And we are left to read the countless articles, all having their own opinions as to the mass extinction. One such theory is that a shift in the solar system could have caused the mass destruction. According to an article published in Nature magazine, â€Å"A bizarre wobble 65 million years ago, perturbing the orbits of Mars, Earth and Mercury, may have caused the demise of the dinosaurs, new models of the Solar System suggest.† The article suggests that an upset could have â€Å"disrupted the trajectories of asteroids-normally safely confined to asteroid belts-sending one or more into the Earth.† This is an easy enough idea for the general public to understand yet it is not stated if they know what caused the upset in the first place. And this is where we depend on the researchers to come up with a way of finding this out. They designed a model that would mimic the Solar System 100 million years ago, â€Å"based on natural variations in planetary orbits, their proximity to the Sun and their gravitational effects on one another.† What they did find was fluctuations in the model dating back 65 million years ago right when the asteroid supposedly hit. Even though it sounds like good solid evidence a lot of scientists are still not sold on the idea and need more convincing. In another article it is suggested that had a meteorite, large enough to cause mass extinction, hit the earth there would have been widespread wildfires wiping out eve... ... lack of information spreading to the general public. In the end we are left with countless more articles to read and decipher. Works Citied: 1. Ball, Philip. â€Å"Roast dinosaur off the menu?† Nature 03 Dec. 2013 Nature News Service/ Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2015 http://www.nature.com/nsu/031201/031201-3.html 2. Clarke, Tom. â€Å"Chaos killed the dinosaurs.† Nature 28 June 2011 Nature News Service/ Macmillan Ltd 2015 http://www.nature.com/nsu/010628/010628-15.html 3. Dalton, Rex. â€Å"Hot tempers, hard core.† Nature 04 Sept. 2013 Nature Publishing Group 2015 http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf?file=/nature/journal/v425/n6953/full/425013a_r.html&filetype=&dynoptions 4. Pearson, Helen. â€Å"Asteroid let dinosaurs rule.† Nature 17 May 2012 Nature News Service/ Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2015 http://www.nature.com/nsu/020513/020513-11.html