Earth’s possible Saturn-like ring

Earth may once have had rings like Saturn’s. Scientists identified a group of large 466 million-year-old craters created by falling meteorites, which at that time would have been close to the equator, where planetary rings usually form. The researchers said that this many impacts in such a short period would be very unlikely unless they were part of a ring, which they think formed when an eight-mile-wide asteroid passed close enough to the Earth to be pulled apart by its gravity.

Another researcher told New Scientist that the idea could explain some observations, but needed more data to be confirmed. The rings may have been in place for millions of years and created a shadow which cooled the Earth enough to cause an ice age.