“What makes this discovery even more intriguing are the possible climatic implications of such a ring system,” said Andy Tomkins, a professor at Monash University in Australia and lead author of the study.
THE rings Planetariums are one of the most fascinating phenomena in the solar system. They are small fragments of dust, rocks and particles that orbit a planet, generating a disk-shaped structure. Although the most famous are those of Saturn, there are other stars that have them, but more discreet.
Today, researchers have also found evidence suggesting that in the past Land It could also have developed a ring system similar to Saturn’s.
The study, recently published in the scientific journal Scientific letters of the Earth and the planets suggests that the debris ring lasted for decades and may have contributed to the global cooling of our planet.
Why Earth Might Have Had a Ring
According to Andy Tomkins Professor of planetary sciences at Monash University in Australia and lead author of the study, Earth was struck by several meteorites nearly 500 million years ago, during a time known as the Ordovician.
Over a “geologically short” period, 21 impact craters formed, Tomkins said in a paper in The conversation The team of scientists wanted to find out if there was a trend in the location of these craters.
In the survey, they used computer models of how the Earth’s tectonic plates moved in ancient times, in order to map where these craters, formed 466 million years ago, are located. In this analysis, regions such as Western Australia, Africa, the North American craton and other small regions of Europe were taken into account.
Tomkins and his colleagues determined that all craters were born within 30 degrees of the equator despite the fact that more than 70% of the continental crust lies outside this zone. None of the craters are located near the poles.
The researchers suggest in their study that the craters were formed by a single, large asteroid that had a close collision with Earth. Its remains would have fallen gradually, so the event took place over decades.
That’s not the only thing. When this asteroid passed close to Earth (at a distance known as the Roche limit), it broke up and generated the ring of debris that orbits our planet. This phenomenon is consistent with the configuration of craters found near the equator.
Researchers estimate that the asteroid that helped create the ring was about 12.5 kilometers wide, probably a little larger, when it was a solid body.
According to the professor of planetary sciences at Monash University, asteroids that hit Earth normally do so in completely random locations and at any latitude, “as we see in the craters on the Moon, Mars and Mercury,” he noted.
He added: “Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that all 21 craters from this period would have formed near the equator if they were not linked to each other. “We would also expect to see many more craters at higher latitudes.”
The team of scientists also calculated that the probability that these craters are located near the equator, the product of random, unrelated impacts, is 1 in 25 million.
In addition to these discoveries, it was discovered that sedimentary rock layers from this period contained extraordinary quantities of a certain type of meteorite.
By examining the meteorite remains in these rocks, they identified indications that “they were exposed to space radiation for much less time than we see in meteorites that fall today,” Tomkins said. The sedimentary rocks also revealed that during the Ordovician era, several tsunamis occurred globally.
How Earth’s Ring Could Have Caused Global Cooling
“What makes this discovery even more intriguing are the possible climatic implications of such a ring system.” ” Tomkins said in a university statement.
The academic’s comments are due to the fact that the study estimates that, in the past, The ring may have cast a long shadow on our planet . This would have caused a blockage of sunlight and a global cooling event known as the Hirnatian. However, the details of this phenomenon are not yet entirely clear, the researchers say.
“The idea that a ring system could have influenced global temperatures adds a new layer of complexity to our understanding of how extraterrestrial events may have shaped Earth’s climate,” Tomkins added.
Birger Schmitz professor at Lund University in Sweden, told the outlet New scientist that even though the study raises a “new and creative” hypothesis, there is still insufficient information “to affirm that the Earth had rings.” From your point of view, Looking for a common signature in specific asteroid grains in the studied craters could be one way to test the proposed hypothesis.
While Aaron Cavosie Professor at Curtin University in Australia, assured the same media that the presence of the ring could help understand the long period during which impacts of asteroid remains were recorded in the Ordovician and the location of the craters.
“It is a brilliant fusion of the sedimentary record of meteorite remains, the Ordovician impact crater record, paleogeography and solar system dynamics.” supported Cavosie.
Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
