ClassX Video Lessons Youtube Channel Science Time How Were Dinosaurs Seperated by Both Time and Space?
Many science fiction movies have sparked our imagination about dinosaurs, but they often get the facts wrong. Dinosaurs didn’t all live together at the same time or place. In fact, dinosaur communities were separated by both time and geography. For example, the famous T. rex is actually closer in time to humans than it is to some other dinosaurs like the Stegosaurus.
Did you know that dinosaurs once lived on the other side of the galaxy? Our entire solar system, including Earth, revolves around a massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This journey takes about 215 million years to complete one orbit. So, when dinosaurs first appeared, our solar system was in a completely different part of the galaxy.
The time of the dinosaurs is known as the Mesozoic Era, which is divided into three periods: the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. During the Triassic period, all the continents were joined together in a supercontinent called Pangaea. The Jurassic period lasted for about 55 million years, followed by the Cretaceous period, which ended with the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. This extinction event, known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, was likely caused by a massive asteroid or comet impact.
The extinction of the dinosaurs wasn’t the first or the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history. The Permian-Triassic extinction event, also known as the Great Dying, occurred 250 million years ago and wiped out 96% of marine species and 70% of land vertebrates. Dinosaurs like Stegosaurus, Iguanodon, and Giganotosaurus lived during the early Cretaceous period, while our planet was on the other side of the galaxy. There are 65 million years between us and the T. rex, and 83 million years between the T. rex and Stegosaurus.
It’s hard for us to imagine millions or billions of years. To make it easier, let’s think of Earth’s history as a single calendar year. Dinosaurs appeared on January 1st and went extinct by the third week of September. In this timeline, humans have only been around since December 31st.
Some scientists believe that birds are the direct descendants of certain carnivorous dinosaurs, meaning they could be considered modern living dinosaurs. This idea is still being studied, showing that there’s much we still don’t know about these fascinating creatures.
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed learning about dinosaurs, keep exploring and discovering more about our planet’s incredible history.
Using a long strip of paper, create a timeline of the Mesozoic Era. Mark the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, and place different dinosaur species on the timeline according to when they lived. This will help you visualize how dinosaurs were separated by time.
Imagine our solar system’s journey around the Milky Way. Create a model or drawing to show where Earth was during the time of the dinosaurs compared to today. This will help you understand how dinosaurs were separated by space.
In groups, research different mass extinction events, including the Permian-Triassic and Cretaceous-Paleogene events. Role-play as scientists presenting your findings on what caused these extinctions and their impact on life on Earth.
Create a calendar that represents Earth’s entire history as one year. Mark significant events, such as the appearance and extinction of dinosaurs, to better understand the vastness of geological time.
Research the theory that birds are modern descendants of dinosaurs. Hold a debate in class, with one side arguing for the theory and the other against it. Use evidence to support your arguments and explore the ongoing scientific discussion.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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There are many science fiction movies that have captured our imagination and, in some ways, shaped our thinking about dinosaurs. The problem is that much of what they taught us is incorrect. The age of the dinosaurs was not a condensed period where every dinosaur was simply wandering around the planet; dinosaur communities were separated by both time and geography. On a timeline, the T. rex is closer to humans than it is to a snake.
Did you know that dinosaurs lived on the other side of the galaxy? Everything in our galaxy is spinning around the black hole at its center. The stars closer to the center spin faster, while those in the outer regions spin more slowly. Just as the Earth revolves around the Sun, our entire solar system revolves around the black hole at the center of the galaxy. We are moving at around 828,000 kilometers per hour, approximately 28,000 light-years from the galactic center. Based on our current position in the galaxy, we essentially complete an orbit every 215 million years or so.
Dr. Jesse Christiansen from the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute studies planet occurrence rates—how often and what kinds of planets occur in the galaxy. She mapped out dinosaur evolution through the galaxy’s rotation and conveys that the astronomical timescales align quite well with archaeological timescales. The last time our solar system was at its current point in the galaxy, dinosaurs were just emerging in a time known as the Mesozoic Era.
The Mesozoic Era is divided into three periods: the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. During the Triassic period, all the continents were arranged together as a singular supercontinent called Pangaea. The Jurassic period lasted for 55 million years, followed by the Cretaceous period, which lasted until the dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago in an event known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. This event, also known as the K-Pg extinction, is generally thought to have been caused by the impact of a massive comet or asteroid 10 to 15 kilometers wide.
This was not the first massive die-off in history, nor was it the largest. The Permian-Triassic extinction event, known as the Great Dying, occurred 250 million years ago and eradicated 96% of all marine species and 70% of all terrestrial vertebrate species on Earth. Dinosaurs such as Stegosaurus, Iguanodon, and Giganotosaurus lived through the early Cretaceous period while our planet was on the other side of the galaxy. There are 65 million years separating us from the famous T. rex, while 83 million years separate T. rex from Stegosaurus.
The human brain isn’t evolved to process large numbers, and we can’t really visualize millions or billions. So, let’s use a different time scale to put things into perspective. Let’s assume that all of Earth’s history, from the very beginning of the dinosaurs to today, were compressed into 365 days, or one calendar year. Using this time scale, the dinosaurs appeared on January 1st and became extinct by the third week of September. The Earth would have formed approximately 18.5 years earlier. Using the same scale, humans have been on Earth only since December 31st.
Scientists think that birds are direct descendants of one line of carnivorous dinosaurs, and some consider that they represent modern living dinosaurs. This theory remains under discussion and shows that there is still much we don’t know about dinosaurs.
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This version maintains the original content while removing any informal language and ensuring clarity.
Dinosaurs – Large reptiles that lived during the Mesozoic era, millions of years ago, and are now extinct. – Scientists study fossils to learn more about how dinosaurs lived and why they became extinct.
Galaxy – A massive system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter, bound together by gravity. – The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our solar system.
Mesozoic – The era of geological time from about 252 to 66 million years ago, known as the age of reptiles. – During the Mesozoic era, dinosaurs were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates.
Extinction – The process in which a species, family, or larger group ceases to exist. – The extinction of the dinosaurs is believed to have been caused by a massive asteroid impact.
Periods – Divisions of geological time that are shorter than an era and longer than an epoch. – The Mesozoic era is divided into three periods: Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous.
Time – A continuous, measurable quantity in which events occur in a sequence from the past through the present to the future. – Astronomers use light-years to measure the vast distances in space, which also relates to the time it takes for light to travel.
Species – A group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding. – The discovery of a new dinosaur species can provide insights into the diversity of life during the Mesozoic era.
Impact – The action of one object coming forcibly into contact with another, often used to describe collisions in space. – The impact of a large asteroid is one of the leading theories for the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Humans – Members of the species Homo sapiens, characterized by their ability to think, communicate, and create complex societies. – Humans have always been fascinated by the stars and have developed astronomy to understand the universe.
Birds – Warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrates with feathers, wings, and a beak, descended from theropod dinosaurs. – Birds are considered the closest living relatives to certain groups of dinosaurs.
