Earth Had Rings Like Saturn Millions of Years Ago, Study Suggests

Astrophysics was once so brainsick in love with Earth , it put a ring on it . But the engagement did n’t last , and the doughnut formation come down away .

While the Beyonce mention are ours , the determination that our planet once had a ring organisation was reached by a trio of Earth scientist from Australia ’s Monash University . In a newstudy , published in the journalEarth and Planetary Science Letters , they analyse almost 500 - million - year - older meteorite impact craters from around the world . They conclude that it was incredibly unbelievable the alien bodies originated from an asteroid belt . Instead , they believe Earth once had a doughnut around it , lump of which eventually rained down through the atmosphere — a discovery that could fundamentally alter how we recollect about the evolution of Earth ’s climate .

It ’s not as screwball as it might voice . globe is actually famous for its want of a doughnut system . Though Saturn ’s rings are the most prominent , the research worker charge out in the study that all of our solar system ’s large planets have ring , though their composition varies . There ’s also some evidencethat Mars once had a ring of its own .

This artist’s rendition could have been somewhat like what the view of the sky was like 460 million years ago, minus the trees and contrails (of course).

This artist’s rendition could have been somewhat like what the view of the sky was like 460 million years ago, minus the trees and contrails (of course).© Kevin Gill via Wikimedia Commons

The impacts the scientists examined pass during what ’s known as the Ordovician , a geological period that start 485 million years ago and lasted for almost 42 million years . During that time , Earth experienced an unusual number of meteorite smash , 21 of which were examine for the cogitation . The research worker looked at both the chemical composition of the craters , which showed a disproportionate amount of material that is often found in L chondrite meteorite . It ’s a sign that the fabric came from meteorite resulting from a individual asteroid breaking up .

They also looked at the locations of the craters . Meteorites tend to fall arbitrarily , but the majority of the impacts were centralized within 30 degrees of the equator . That ’s pretty sturdy to explain as coincidence , given that 70 % of the Earth ’s impudence lies outside this area . They determined the chances of the impacts being random were miniscule , at just 1 in 25 million .

As for how the anchor ring work in the first place , they were plain not constructed by an ancient alien slipstream as a galactic defence against the Flood . Instead , it was the result of a near - impact with a very magnanimous asteroid 466 million years ago . The asteroid pass so close to Earth that its gravity caused it to decompose , leave its debris to revolve the planet . Such an object would have had to cross Earth ’s Roche limit , the critical distance where tidal force overcome the asteroid ’s structural integrity , causing it to go asunder .

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“ Over billion of years , material from this band gradually fell to Earth , create the spike in meteorite impacts observed in the geologic record , ” say Andy Tomkins , a prof at Monash University ’s School of Earth , Atmosphere and Environment , who lead the cogitation , in a pressrelease . “ We also see that layers in sedimentary rock from this period contain extraordinary amounts of meteorite debris . ”

If there was a band around Earth , it would have had an tremendous impact on the climate of the time . The material would have shaded the winter hemisphere and reflected light towards the summer hemisphere , chair to increased temperature reduction in the former , and some slight growth to warming in the latter . As the meteorite fell to Earth , the dust they generated would also have contributed to cooling . This all , in good turn , would have resulted in a major perturbation to the chemical penning of the aura , including CO2 stratum .

“ The idea that a hoop system could have shape global temperatures adds a new layer of complexity to our understanding of how extra - tellurian events may have shaped Earth ’s climate , ” said Tomkins .

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There would n’t have been much animation , if any , capable of appreciating the ring overhead . life sentence on Earth at the clock time was mostly aquatic , include primitive fish , cephalopods , corals , and early vertebrates . Land was largely stark , with only unsubdivided plants like mosses begin to emerge .

While Tomkins and his colleagues paint a compelling picture for their theory , there are some issues they receipt still require to be resolved . date stamp techniques show the volcanic crater that were analyze mostly settle into two freestanding era . To excuse why they did n’t fall at around the same time , the scientists say it ’s potential some of the debris formed a mini - moon , which also eventually crumbled under the force of Earth ’s gravity . They also take on that more study is ask on the geology of aqueous rocks near the equator to verify their possibility .

While more employment distinctly involve to be done , the theory is credible and just belong to show Earth is even more of a subsister than we thought . As the meteorite fell , our planet was definitely jumpin ’ , jumpin ’ .

James Cameron Underwater