Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
Researchers have proposed that Earth may have had a ring system 466 million years ago, during a period of intense meteorite bombardment known as the Ordovician impact spike. This finding challenges conventional views of Earth's ancient history.
The hypothesis comes from studying the distribution of 21 asteroid impact craters from the Ordovician period. All craters were located near the equator, despite the majority of Earth’s landmass being elsewhere, which standard models cannot explain.
The research suggests that a large asteroid passing within Earth’s Roche limit broke apart due to tidal forces, forming a debris ring around Earth. This ring is believed to have slowly fallen to Earth over millions of years, causing the spike in meteorite impacts.
Geological evidence supporting this theory includes unusual amounts of meteorite debris found in sedimentary rocks from the Ordovician period, consistent with the ring system gradually dispersing material onto Earth.
The ring may have had significant climate effects, potentially blocking sunlight and contributing to a global cooling event known as the “Hirnantian Icehouse,” one of the coldest periods in the last 500 million years.
Normally, asteroid impacts are randomly distributed across planetary surfaces. However, in the Ordovician period, impacts were unusually concentrated near the equator. This non-random pattern supports the idea of a ring system directing debris.
Researchers used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify stable land regions capable of preserving craters from the period. Despite only 30% of this area being near the equator, all craters were found there, which was highly unlikely by chance.
This discovery suggests that celestial events, like asteroid impacts and ring systems, may have had a broader influence on Earth’s geological and biological history, potentially affecting climate and the development of life over time.