The big boom theory

In what must have been the biggest explosion ever seen on the planet, researchers found a crater in Antarctica that was created by a meteor the size of Syndey. Scientists who found the crater say it could explain the global extinction in the Permian-Triassic period when all animal life on Earth died out, clearing the way for the dinosaurs. The also believe it probably created the continent of Australia, forcing it to break away from the existing land mass. “A meteor that size would have punctured right through the crust of the Earth and caused enormous damage to the planet," said Australian scientist Dean Archer. “In that period 95 per cent of life on Earth was destroyed.”