Asteroid That Killed Dinosaurs Made Earth's Surface Act Like Liquid, Scientists Say : The Two-Way : NPR

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/22/503013290/scientists-say-dinosaur-killing-asteroid-made-earths-surface-act-like-liquid?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews

A computer illustration of a large asteroid colliding with Earth. (Size may not be to scale.) Such an impact is believed to have led to the death of the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago.

Mark Garlick /Getty Images/Science Photo Library RM

When the asteroid believed to have killed off the dinosaurs smashed into Earth some 66 million years ago, its sheer force made the planet's surface momentarily act like a liquid.

The asteroid ripped open a 60-mile-wide hole. From miles deep in that abyss, rock hurtled upward to a height twice that of Mount Everest and then collapsed outward to form a ring of mountains......