Asteroids striking Earth have soared since the age of dinosaurs

The number of asteroids striking Earth has soared since the age of dinosaurs, according to a new study. The increase in asteroid showers backs widely held view the dinosaurs were wiped out by a massive impact, say scientists. The international research team has found that, over the past 290 million years, asteroid impacts have increased by up to three times - and the increased asteroid showers doomed the dinosaurs around 66 million years ago. Study co-author Dr Thomas Gernon, an Associate Professor in Earth Science at the University of Southampton, said dinosaurs proliferated about 250 million years ago.