Researchers have found evidence suggesting that the Earth may have once had a system of Saturn-like rings. The rings are theorized to have formed 466 million years ago during one of the coldest periods in the planet's history, known as the Ordovician.
Led by Monash University’s School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, the study was published Tuesday in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. The scientists behind the study believe the rings may have been created by intense meteoric bombardment of Earth, followed by a close encounter with a large asteroid passing through the Earth's Roche limit, which then created a ring of debris.
