One fateful day some 66 million years ago, a 7.5-mile-wide (12-kilometre) space rock collides with Earth, setting off a series of events that ended the age of the dinosaurs. From the dinosaurs’ perspective, it’s one of the most unlucky days for life on Earth, and a new TV special pieces together what happened using newly discovered evidence.
“Dinosaur Apocalypse,” part of NOVA’s science series, airs in two parts beginning May 11 on PBS. In the documentary, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, you’ll follow paleontologists as they unearth new fossils, then watch their finds unfold with dinosaurs rendered with computer generated images (CGI).
These scenes and the entire program focus on discoveries made in a section of the Hell Creek Formation in North Dakota called Tanis, where researchers suspect they have found a massive graveyard of animals killed shortly after the destruction. asteroid beaten. “We’re excited to bring viewers on this journey as scientists excavate this extraordinary dig site,” Julia Cort, co-executive producer of NOVA, said in a statement.
“We can look over the shoulders of paleontologists discovering some of the rarest fossils ever found in North America, perhaps in the world, which if confirmed could help illuminate the most dramatic day in the planet’s history.” Corte said. aggregate.
Related: The darkness caused by an asteroid that killed the dinosaurs extinguished life on Earth in 9 months
Filmed over three years, the special takes an in-depth look at the work of Robert DePalma, a doctoral student at the University of Manchester in England, and his team. Viewers will see impressive discoveries from a pterosaur embryo still in its egg and a piece of triceratops skin, and more in the first part of the special, called “Dinosaur Apocalypse: The New Evidence”.
In part two, “Dinosaur Apocalypse: The Last Day,” the team uncovers more evidence that the Tanis fossils represent victims of the extinction that ended the cretaceous period (about 145 million to 66 million years ago), wiping out about 80% of Earth’s animal life. Fossils include a dinosaur leg that appears to have been ripped from a thecelosaurus —a small bipedal dinosaur— following the asteroid’s impact on what is now Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where the impact left a deep scar known as the Chicxulub crater.
Impressive new fossils paint a picture of life just before the asteroid impact. “Dinosaur Apocalypse: The New Evidence,” hour one of a two-hour special, premieres WEDNESDAY, MAY 11 at 9/8c on @PBS: https://t.co/aOHtsyvgKj pic.twitter.com/CDZjxRFReXApril 29, 2022
However, not all experts are convinced that the thecelosaurus who appears in the documentary died the day the fateful asteroid hit landor are withholding judgment until all findings are published in peer-reviewed journals, Live Science previously reported.
The documentary is co-produced by PBS and the BBC Studios Science Unit. A version of this documentary called “Dinosaurs: The Final Day with David Attenborough” aired on BBC One in the UK on April 15, 2022. However, the new special The two-part NOVA includes additional experts commenting on the missing findings. in the UK version.
“Dinosaur Apocalypse: The New Evidence” airs May 11 at 9 pm ET on PBS, immediately followed by “Dinosaur Apocalypse: The Last Day” at 10 pm ET. Episodes will also be available to stream online at pbs.org/nova and in the pbs video app.
Originally published on Live Science.
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