Earth had Saturn-like rings 466 million years ago, new study suggests

Illustration of earth with a ring of debris around its equator.

Earth may have sported a Saturn-like ring system 466 million years ago, after it captured and wrecked a passing asteroid, a new study suggests. 

The debris ring, which likely lasted tens of millions of years, may have led to global cooling and even contributed to the coldest period on Earth in the past 500 million years.