In the distant past, Earth resembled Saturn, which may explain the unusual changes observed on our planet.

Saturn is one of the four planets in the Solar System that possess rings, and this planet's rings are particularly well-defined. Scientists have proposed a hypothesis suggesting that Earth also had its own ring system approximately 466 million years ago. This was during the Ordovician period, a time when significant changes in life forms, lithospheric plate movements, and climate were occurring on Earth. Additionally, during this period, our planet experienced intense bombardment by asteroids and meteoroids. The presence of 21 impact craters within 30 degrees of Earth's equator indicates that cosmic debris may have fallen to the planet from a ring system surrounding Earth. This research was published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, reports Earth.

The new hypothesis put forth by scientists is based on the remarkable arrangement of 21 asteroid impact craters, all located within 30 degrees of the equator. This unexpected finding is intriguing, as impact craters are typically distributed randomly across the planet.

However, during the Ordovician period (458-444 million years ago), over 70% of the Earth's landmass was situated outside this equatorial region. Thus, the clustering of impact craters is anomalous, a phenomenon that geological theories struggle to explain.

Researchers believe that this arrangement of impact craters resulted from a large asteroid's close approach to Earth. When the cosmic rock came very close to our planet, Earth's gravity tore it apart. Consequently, rings formed around Earth consisting of asteroid debris. These rings resembled Saturn's rings.

According to scientists, over millions of years, rocks from the rings fell to Earth, leading to a period characterized by a significant increase in cosmic rock impacts. Sedimentary rocks dating to the Ordovician period contain a substantial amount of meteoritic material.

Many changes occurred on Earth during the Ordovician period. This era saw the emergence of many new marine life forms, including the first fish. The planet's climate also began to shift. Initially, it was warm, similar to today's tropics, but by the end of the Ordovician period, a significant ice age emerged, causing a drastic drop in sea levels that led to mass extinctions.

The study's authors believe that Earth's ring system could have had a profound impact on the climate, potentially leading to global cooling. Scientists suggest that the rings may have blocked a portion of sunlight, thereby contributing to the drop in temperatures on Earth.

This hypothesis offers a new perspective on the history of our planet and raises new questions: could such rings have existed around Earth at different times, and how might they have influenced not only the planet's climate but also the development of life itself?