A study validates how dinosaurs went extinct.

The most common explanation for the mass extinction of dinosaurs as a species is that an asteroid hit the Earth in Central America, which sent dust and ash up into the atmosphere, blocking the sun and killing off many forms of life.

Paul Renne from the University of California at Berkley, along with a team of scientists has put that theory to the test.

Renne said: "It's possible that the impact was enough, but there is ample evidence that other things such as rapid climate swings were going on just beforehand, so it seems likely that the impact tipped the balance of an already-stressed biosphere."

By testing a rock sample from Montana, the researchers found that the asteroid probably responsible for taking out the dinosaurs hit the earth about 66 million years ago, leaving a margin of around 30 thousand years from when dinosaurs are believed to have died off.

Scientists have debated the cause of dinosaur’s extinction for many years and the debate continues.

It is also widely believed that not all of the dinosaurs went extinct, but that some survived and evolved into certain bird species, according to fossil records and scientific data.

What do you think killed the dinosaurs?