Dark matter may have killed the dinosaurs, claims scientist

Dark matter may have been responsible for the comet strike which killed the dinosaurs, a scientist has suggested.

Earth, as well as spinning around the Sun, is also moving around our own galaxy, the Milky Way,

Biology Professor Michael Rampino, of New York University, believes that at certain periods Earth passes through areas of concentrated dark matter, and that has a huge impact on our planet's geology and biology.

Although dark matter has never been seen, scientists believe it must exist to account for huge gravitational effects in the universe. There simply isn’t enough visible matter to keep the planets, stars and other bodies in place, so some large invisible force must be also having an impact.

Prof Rampino believes that dark matter changes the orbits of comets and leads to additional heating of the Earth’s core which can trigger volcanoes, mountain building and mass extinction events.

Earth moves around the ‘galactic disc’ – a region of the Milky Way where our solar system resides - once every 250 million years but its orbit takes it nearer to the crowded centre of the disc every 30 million years, where there should be, theoretically, more dark matter.

Prof Rampino discovered that those 30 million year periods correlate to times of comet impacts and mass extinctions.

The comet strike 66 million ago that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs is just one example.

"We are fortunate enough to live on a planet that is ideal for the development of complex life," Rampino says.

"But the history of the Earth is punctuated by large scale extinction events, some of which we struggle to explain. It may be that dark matter - the nature of which is still unclear but which makes up around a quarter of the universe - holds the answer.

“As well as being important on the largest scales, dark matter may have a direct influence on life on Earth."

Because there is more dark matter in the crowded central part of the galactic disc, it can disturb paths of comets, sending them on a collision course with Earth.

And with each dip into the disc, the dark matter can accumulate within the Earth's core, producing considerable heat. The heat created could trigger events such as volcanic eruptions, mountain building, magnetic field reversals, and changes in sea level, which also show peaks every 30 million years.

Prof Rampino believes his model of dark matter interactions could change our understanding of the geological and biological development of Earth, as well as other planets within the Galaxy and explain some of the most cataclysmic events that have taken place.