Could an exploding star have been responsible for the death of the dinosaurs? This idea has become popular again as an explanation for the disappearance of the dinosaurs. An exploding star can blast material enormous distances into space. If this material reached Earth’s atmosphere, changes may have occurred that were harmful to life. We call an exploding star a supernova. Nova is the Latin word for new, and in ancient times, when an exploding …showed first 75 words of 392 total…

…showed last 75 words of 392 total…of deadly cancer among the animals. Others believe neutrinos and radiation caused reaction within the Earth’s atmosphere that resulted in destruction of the ozone layer. Without the ozone layer to filter out dangerous radiation, high rates of cancer would occur. Only small animals and plants, whose homes were sheltered from the harmful radiation would survive. An identical result would occur if no ozone layer existed to filter out radiation coming from our own Sun.