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Beyonce did say that if you like something enough, you <em>have </em>to put a ring on it. And the same must have happened to humanity's favourite planet, <keyword id="19912640" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="earth" source="keywords">Earth</keyword>. According to fresh research, our world may have sported a colossal ring of <keyword id="20715750" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="space-debris" source="keywords">space debris</keyword> 466 million years ago, rivalling the iconic rings of Saturn. But more than being just for show, it may have sparked chaotic <keyword id="21197944" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="meteor-showers" source="keywords">meteor showers</keyword> and even helped trigger a planetary cold snap.<br /><h2>A dramatic demise</h2>It all started when an asteroid, likely enormous in size, wandered too close to Earth’s Roche limit — a point where the planet’s intense tidal forces pull apart anything foolish enough to cross. Once here, the researchers have suggested that the asteroid likely met a brutal end, ripped to shreds and scattered around the equator, leaving Earth with a halo of debris.<br /><br />The remnants of the asteroid thereafter began a slow descent, bombarding the Earth with meteorites for millions of years. This onslaught is clearly visible in the <keyword id="23220361" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="geological-record" source="keywords">geological record</keyword>, where scientists find layers packed with meteorite debris.<br /><div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113349504" title="Do we really need so many satellites?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>"We also see that layers in sedimentary rocks from this period contain extraordinary amounts of meteorite debris," remarks study author Andy Tomkins.<br /><h2>Plunging the planet into cold age</h2>Scientists also believe that the asteroid’s debris field likely cast a massive shadow over the Earth’s equator, blocking sunlight and contributing to a <keyword id="23220360" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="planetary-cooling" source="keywords">planetary cooling</keyword> event. During the time 485 to 443 million years ago, known as the <keyword id="23217260" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ordovician-period" source="keywords">Ordovician period</keyword>, Earth was already in the throes of a serious cold snap. But the ring may have exacerbated things, plunging the planet into one of its coldest periods in the last 500 million years.<br /><br />These meteorites weren’t just raining down willy-nilly. They appeared to have a favourite target — Earth’s equator. By mapping out 21 ancient <keyword id="23220362" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="impact-craters" source="keywords">impact craters</keyword> from this era, researchers discovered they all clustered suspiciously close to the planet’s middle. For those who enjoy mind-bending statistics, the chances of this happening randomly are roughly equivalent to rolling a three-sided die 21 times and landing the same number each time!<br /><h3 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:14pt;margin-bottom:4pt;">Multiple rings, in fact</h3>Here’s the twist: scientists speculate that this might not have been Earth’s <em>only</em> ring. While this ancient ring system eventually fizzled out as gravity sucked the debris down, it's possible Earth had more than one ring at different points in its long history. This opens the door to all sorts of questions about how celestial bling may have shaped Earth's climate and history.<br /><br />Could Earth one day boast a ring again? While the study doesn’t go that far, it certainly leaves room for the imagination to run wild. In any case, the idea that our planet once sported a Saturn-like accessory is a reminder that the cosmos is full of surprises — and Earth has had its share of celestial drama.<br /><br />The findings of this research have been published in<em> Earth and Planetary Research Letters</em> and can be accessed <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X24004230?via%3Dihub">here</a>.<br />

The Earth had a Saturn-like ring of its own once, a shocking new study has suggested

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An interactive map developed by a software engineer lets you see where your hometown was located on <keyword id="6359982" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="earth">Earth</keyword> in the <keyword id="394950" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ancient">ancient</keyword> past.</li><li>The map also gives an overview of what fossils lie in each region, and when different life forms emerged. </li></ul><p>Have you ever wondered what the area around your hometown was like during the Cretaceous period, when the Tyrannosaurus rex roamed? How about before then, when Earth had just one supercontinent?</p><p>Now you can find out.  </p><p>An <a href="https://dinosaurpictures.org/ancient-earth#240">interactive map</a> developed by software engineer Ian Webster lets users track the locations of modern-day landmarks back hundreds of millions of years.</p><p>If you type in the name of your hometown or current city, the map can pinpoint its location on the <keyword id="46100" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="planet">planet</keyword> in a given era, going back 750 million years (that's about 150 million years before multicellular life emerged). </p><p>New York City, for example, formed part of the Rodinia supercontinent 750 million years ago. </p><p>Webster's map relies on the work of geologist and paleogeographer Christopher Scotese, who created his own chronological map in 1998 that charts how <keyword id="1801228" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="tectonic-plates">tectonic plates</keyword> shifted throughout Earth's history. </p><p>The planet's continents are <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/tectonics.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">constantly moving</a> because of these 15 to 20 plates, which in turn lie on Earth's mantle, the layer above the core. Heat from within the core causes these plates to move, sometimes towards each other and sometimes away. As a result, the continents of today look very different than they did a few hundred million years ago.</p><p>Webster told Business Insider that he got the idea to build the interactive map while studying tectonic plates. </p><p>"The <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> was fascinating, but you had to install special scientific software to explore the results," he said. So he decided to make that data more accessible. </p><p>Not all places on our current-day planet show up far into the past in Webster's map, since the geological formations on which they rest may not have developed or emerged yet. For instance, Seattle, Washington, partially rests on the modern-day Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, which originated from formations that emerged around 250 million years ago. Thus, it only becomes trackable starting around the 240-million-year mark. At that point, Seattle was part of Pangaea. (It's the red dot in the image below.)</p><div type="image" title="seattle 240" height="800" width="1318" msid="77913503" hostid="261"></div><p>New York City, on the other hand, was located in the middle of Rodinia 750 million years ago:</p><div type="image" title="nyc 750" height="798" width="1364" msid="77913505" hostid="261"></div>Then 470 million years ago, near the end of the Early Ordovician Period, New York's land was in an ocean.<div type="image" title="nyc 470" height="784" width="1376" msid="77913512" hostid="261"></div><p>The map doesn't provide many granular details about specific places during a given period of history, but it does offer snapshots of life on Earth over time. For instance, the first dinosaurs emerged about 220 million years ago, as Earth recovered from a mass extinction event. </p><p>The map also includes a partial list of fossils found near a given town or city. Around New York, for example, paleontologists have found fossils of the pteranodon, a flying, kite-like reptile with a wingspan of 20 feet. </p><p>Meanwhile, near Green River, Wyoming, remnants of Triceratops have been discovered. </p><p>Webster told Business Insider that he wants teachers, students, and anyone interested in the history and science of Earth to use his map.</p><p>"I hope that it will inspire curiosity about our planet's past and ongoing natural processes," he said. </p>

A new interactive map lets you track where your city or town was located on Earth 750 million years ago

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The Earth had a Saturn-like ring of its own once, a shocking new study has suggested

Ankush Banerjee

A new interactive map lets you track where your city or town was located on Earth 750 million years ago

Susie Neilson

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