Episode 6.6 · 17 min

the asteroid impact that ended the age of dinosaurs and what survived it

How could an impact lasting minutes starve a Triceratops thousands of kilometres away months later? This episode follows the Chicxulub asteroid strike from a thriving late Cretaceous world through the dust, soot and sulfuric-acid haze that dimmed sunlight, collapsed photosynthesis and food webs, and ended the age of non-bird dinosaurs. It also traces the selective survival and uneven recovery of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

Watch this film on YouTube ↗

Visual credits

7 sources

Sources and credits for imagery used in this film, including material incorporated into explanatory animations.

Liriodendrites bradacii fossil leaf (HC166)
TyRex Paleobotany
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
Placed in a 1920×960 picture area with a separate documentary caption; source pixels were not removed or altered.
Chicxulub crater gravity anomalies (Figure 1)
G. S. Collins, N. Patel, T. M. Davison, A. S. P. Rae, J. V. Morgan and S. P. S. Gulick; gravity data courtesy of Hildebrand and Pilkington
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0
Placed in a 1920×960 picture area with a separate documentary caption; source pixels were not removed or altered. The source figure was adapted from the paper's reference 14.
K–Pg boundary exposure at Gubbio, Italy
Biandh
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0
Cropped around the original red arrow and boundary contact, padded to 16:9, and presented with a separate documentary caption.
Globotruncana fossil plankton
PhilippeS13
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
Placed in a 1920×960 picture area with a separate documentary caption; source pixels were not removed or altered.
Basalt layers in the Western Ghats at Mahabaleshwar
Shreyashmohite5025
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
Placed in a 1920×960 picture area with a separate documentary caption; source pixels were not removed or altered.
Vegavis AMNH FARB 30899: CT block alignment and segmented skull
Christopher R. Torres, Julia A. Clarke, Joseph R. Groenke, Matthew C. Lamanna, Ross D. E. MacPhee, Grace M. Musser, Eric M. Roberts and Patrick M. O'Connor
View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0
An extracted CT rotation was padded to 16:9 and given a VEGAVIS label in a separate matte; the episode uses a trimmed excerpt.
PALEOMAP PaleoDEM 70 Ma elevation grid
Christopher R. Scotese and Nicky M. Wright
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0
Adapted as shaded-relief paleogeographic maps and globes.

Research references

Selected sources from the episode’s research and scientific figures.

Music

Meditation From The Star Orion
OctahedronMusic · Envato Elements

Footage and image usage

Credits and usage times retained from the published edition or its production credit record. Where present, times identify visual appearances, not documentary chapters. Source and licence corrections are listed in the visual credits above.

Biandh
Christopher R. Scotese and Nicky M. Wright - source: Original source ↗
Christopher R. Torres, Julia A. Clarke, Joseph R. Groenke, Matthew C. Lamanna, Ross D. E. MacPhee, Grace M. Musser, Eric M. Roberts and Patrick M. O'Connor - source: Original source ↗
G. S. Collins, N. Patel, T. M. Davison, A. S. P. Rae, J. V. Morgan and S. P. S. Gulick; gravity data courtesy of Hildebrand and Pilkington
PhilippeS13
Shreyashmohite5025
TyRex Paleobotany
Original animations and figures created by this channel.
Biandh — 6:49-6:57
Christopher R. Scotese and Nicky M. Wright — 0:14-0:22, 0:32-0:40, 1:28-1:50, 1:59-2:06, 3:44-3:54, 3:56-4:01, 4:06-4:11, 5:18-5:58, 6:16-6:31, 6:57-7:07, 11:17-11:50, 14:10-14:17, 15:43-16:10, 16:13-16:16, 16:19-16:31, 16:40-16:52
Christopher R. Torres, Julia A. Clarke, Joseph R. Groenke, Matthew C. Lamanna, Ross D. E. MacPhee, Grace M. Musser, Eric M. Roberts and Patrick M. O'Connor — 14:00-14:10
G. S. Collins, N. Patel, T. M. Davison, A. S. P. Rae, J. V. Morgan and S. P. S. Gulick; gravity data courtesy of Hildebrand and Pilkington — 4:15-4:25, 6:39-6:49
PhilippeS13 — 10:23-10:30
Shreyashmohite5025 — 4:01-4:06
TyRex Paleobotany — 2:06-2:10

How this film was made

Created and editorially directed by Anders Lunde using a custom production system developed over six months. AI assists research, drafting, programming, and visual production; I review and edit the material and make the final editorial decisions. Narration uses text-to-speech. Visuals combine custom-built scientific animations, AI-generated reconstructions, and credited scientific imagery.

Generated reconstructions illustrate scientific interpretations. They are distinct from photographs, specimens, and measured data.

More about the creator and production →

Visual credits

Liriodendrites bradacii fossil leaf (HC166)

Chicxulub crater gravity anomalies (Figure 1)

K–Pg boundary exposure at Gubbio, Italy

Globotruncana fossil plankton

Basalt layers in the Western Ghats at Mahabaleshwar

Vegavis AMNH FARB 30899: CT block alignment and segmented skull

PALEOMAP PaleoDEM 70 Ma elevation grid

Research references

Music

How this film was made