Earth had rings similar to Saturn's, but they fell off.

(NLĐO) - Earth's belt existed during the Ordovician "catastrophic era" before gradually collapsing over millions of years.

According to Sci-News, a new study led by Professor Andy Tomkins from Monash University (Australia) has helped recreate an Earth with rings identical to those of Saturn.

This strange "portrait" of the Earth existed approximately 466 million years ago, in the middle of the Ordovician period, when the oceans were teeming with living organisms.

Earth once had a belt that disappeared several hundred million years ago - AI illustration: Anh Thu

To reach this conclusion, scientists examined the locations of 21 ancient "scars," which are impact craters that appeared during a period called the "Ordovician impact climax," lasting approximately 40 million years.

All of these impact craters are located within 30 degrees of the equator, even though more than 70% of Earth's continental crust lies outside this area, an unusual phenomenon that conventional theories cannot explain.

According to the authors, this localized impact pattern can only be explained by a large asteroid that once crashed into Earth.

When it crosses the Roche limit, it breaks into countless pieces. The Roche limit is the closest distance two celestial bodies can maintain their integrity. If that distance is exceeded, the smaller celestial body will shatter.

The debris from this asteroid formed a large ring of dust and rocks around Earth. But it's not stable; it's gradually falling towards the ground.

This led to a period of dramatic increase in meteorite impacts. This is evidenced in the sedimentary rock layers of the Middle Ordovician, which are riddled with fragments.

According to the authors, what makes this finding even more intriguing are the potential impacts of this belt system on the climate.

They speculate that this belt may have created shadows on Earth, blocking sunlight and contributing to a significant global cooling event known as the Hirnantian Ice Age, which occurred near the end of the Ordovician period, considered one of the coldest periods in the last 500 million years, contributing to making the Ordovician an extreme era, beginning and ending with major extinction events, not to mention the aforementioned period of continuous meteorite impact.

Professor Tomkins concluded: "The idea that ring systems could influence global temperatures adds complexity to our understanding of how extraterrestrial events might shape Earth's climate."

The study was recently published in the scientific journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

These findings suggest that Earth's ancient rings are very similar to Saturn's. A recent NASA study suggests that Saturn's rings may only be 100 million years old and are in the process of disappearing.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/trai-dat-co-vanh-dai-giong-sao-tho-nhung-bi-roi-mat-196240919145757183.htm