Earth May Have Had ‘Rings Of Fire’ That Caused Chaos, Scientists Say

Scientists have found evidence that Earth may have once had a ring system similar to Saturn’s. It appears to have existed about 466 million years ago and may have both rained down meteorites on Earth’s surface and caused an ice age.

“Over millions of years, material from this ring gradually fell to Earth, creating the spike in meteorite impacts observed in the geological record,” said Professor Andy Tomkins at the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and lead author of a study published this week in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Impact Craters

Using reconstructions of plate tectonics from this period, called the Ordovician, the researchers found 21 asteroid impact craters within 30 degrees of the equator despite over 70 percent of Earth’s continental crust being outside this region.

That’s an anomaly that conventional theories cannot explain. “We also see that layers in sedimentary rocks from this period contain extraordinary amounts of meteorite debris,” said Tomkins. During the Ordovician, Earth was continually struck by meteorites.

Close Encounter

The researchers think the multiple asteroid impacts were caused by one giant object coming close to Earth. When that happens, debris is the result. That’s because of the “Roche limit,” about 20,000 km from Earth. Once a large object gets within that distance, gravitational forces can cause it to break up.

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Cue a debris ring encircling Earth similar to the rings now enveloping Saturn. Over millions of years, the ring caused a shower of debris to fall upon Earth’s surface. The timing matches a surge of meteorite impacts preserved in the geological record, say the researchers.

Ring Shadow

The debris ring may also have cast a shadow on Earth, which has implications for the planet's climate. The ice age at the end of the Ordovician period is considered one of the coldest periods in Earth’s history in the last 500 million years, with cold temperatures, glaciers and huge drop in sea level.

If the ring around Earth was the cause of a significant global cooling event — known as the Hirnantian — there could be other rings in Earth’s more distant history that had similar climatic consequences.

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

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.