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MUMBAI:
What killed the dinosaurs? The question has been pondered by scientists
for many years. The evidence suggests that 65 million years ago,
the age of the dinosaurs ended with a gigantic asteroid. Could we
be next? We don't know when it will happen or where the asteroid
will strike. All we know is that it will happen. But will it mark
the end of mankind? Discovery Channel will prophesy the impact of
comet collision in its special Super Comet: After the Impact on
13 January at 8 pm.
The
two-hour special explores the future of mankind after an imaginary
comet has struck. It is a catastrophe of horrendous proportions,
plunging the earth into a global winter as the sun is eclipsed and
many species are wiped out in an instant. After an imaginary impact,
the programme will observe the ensuing earthquakes, tsunamis and
infernos at close range and also experience at first hand how the
few animals and people that remain struggle to survive under adverse
conditions.
 If
the dinosaurs hadn't become extinct, humans might never have had
the chance to evolve. A new era is about to start - the era of the
conquerors - in which humankind, too, has to find a new place. Super
Comet: After the Impact explores the scenario of that happening
today. A comet is going to hit the Yucatan peninsular. How do you
evacuate an entire nation? Within 1,000 miles of impact, death will
be within minutes. The resulting fireball will vaporize everything
in its path. Evacuation plans work well on paper, but when put into
practice, lawlessness and anarchy take over. The programme follows
these events as seen through the eyes of people in various locations
word wide; from a family in France to a tribe of pygmies in Cameroon
- everyone is affected.
The
impact of the comet would be the equivalent of 100 million megatons
of TNT. The effects just keep getting worse. The EMP wave that sweeps
across the globe will destroy every electronic device. Next comes
the heat wave and the rain of fire. The only refuge will be underground.
With the Earth on fire, smoke will fill the atmosphere, so dense
that sun can't pierce the gloom. We enter the long winter! With
no sunlight the temperatures will plummet, temperate zones become
arctic wastelands. The lack of light means that what few plants
remain gradually die, photosynthesis stops. The planet is dead,
or is it? Not all life forms require light, fungi become the dominant
force, and the Earth becomes one giant mushroom farm.
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