Earth’s Potential Ring System and Climate Impact 499 Million Years Ago

New research suggests that a ring formed around the Earth about 466 million years ago, potentially explaining an unusually high number of meteor impacts and influencing the planet’s climate. Earth’s history with cosmic materials includes the well-known Chicxulub impact that wiped out the dinosaurs, but there were earlier impacts, particularly during the Ordovician period.

Scientists have long been puzzled by the discovery of 21 impact craters near the equator, despite 70% of Earth’s land mass being outside this region. Typically, asteroid impacts occur randomly, as seen on the Moon and Mars, but this pattern of Ordovician impacts was concentrated in a small area. 

Earth´s Stable Land Regions

Professor Andy Tomkins and his team at Monash University explored this phenomenon by studying stable land regions from that time. Using GIS technology, they pinpointed areas like Western Australia, Africa, and North America as regions likely to preserve impact craters. However, only 30% of these regions were near the equator, where all recorded impacts occurred, which is statistically improbable.

The team hypothesizes that a large asteroid approached Earth, broke up near the planet’s Roche limit, and formed a debris ring. Over time, this ring’s material fell to Earth, creating the spike in meteorite impacts seen in the geological record. 

Earth´s Clear Evidences

Evidence of this debris is found in sedimentary rocks from the period, containing unusually high amounts of meteorite material. This ring may also have cast a shadow over Earth, contributing to a cooling event known as the Hirnantian Icehouse near the end of the Ordovician period.

This finding highlights how celestial events may have played a significant role in Earth’s climate and evolutionary history, sparking questions about whether Earth had other rings in the past.

Read the Original Article: IFLSCIENCE

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