Earth had a ring system that caused a strange climate event.

New research could change everything we know about Earth’s past. The new discovery suggests that a ring similar to Saturn’s formed around our planet about 466 million years ago, influencing climate and even the evolution of life.

It all began at the beginning of the Ordovician period (between 488 and 443 million years ago), with the fall of numerous meteorites that left very specific meteorite craters. Reconstructions of tectonic plates from this period show that 21 of them are located near the equator.

The important point is that 70% of the Earth’s continental crust lies outside this zone. Why didn’t the asteroids reach other random locations? This is what research by Professor Andy Tomkins, from the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University in Australia, seeks to answer.

Origin of Earth’s ring system

• By investigating the distribution of these impacts, Tomkins calculated the area of ​​continental surface capable of preserving craters from that era;
• Research has focused on stable, undisturbed cratons (very old geological structures rich in metallic minerals) that predate the Middle Ordovician;
• A Geographic Information System (GIS) approach was used, which identified geologically suitable areas in places such as Western Australia, Africa and some parts of Europe;
• These areas were considered the most suitable for preserving these pits.
• The expert and his team concluded that only 30% of the suitable area was close to the equator at that time, yet all recorded impacts occurred in this area;
• The team believes this localized impact pattern may have resulted after a large asteroid approached the planet, causing it to break up and create a ring of debris surrounding Earth.

“Over millions of years, material from this ring gradually fell to Earth, leading to the peak of meteorite impacts observed in the geological record,” the professor explained. In advertising.

In addition to helping explain the strange craters from this period, the discovery could also have other surprising implications for the planet’s history.

The circular system also affected the climate.

The team suggests that the ring may have cast a shadow on Earth, blocking sunlight. This may have contributed to the extreme cooling event that occurred near the end of the Ordovician period, the Hernanthian Ice House, which has been recognized as one of the coldest periods in the last 500 million years of Earth’s history.

“The idea that a ring system could influence global temperatures adds a new layer of complexity to our understanding of how extraterrestrial events shape Earth’s climate,” Tompkins said.

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Ultimately, the study draws attention to the broader effects that celestial events may have had on the evolutionary history of life on Earth, as well as raising questions about other possible ring systems that were previously unknown.

The article was published in Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters.