A ring could explain a mysterious arrangement of impact craters near the equator and might even have caused an ice age, according to a new study

“Over millions of years, material from this ring gradually fell to Earth, creating the spike in meteorite impacts observed in the geological record,” said Tomkins in a statement that accompanied the paper’s release. “We … see that layers in sedimentary rocks from this period contain extraordinary amounts of meteorite debris.”

The new study asserts that Earth's ring formed around 466 million years ago, and stuck around for around 40 million years before dissipating. Researchers say that the existence of such a ring would help solve several puzzles from Earth's past and that much of the data they collected supports its existence.

The ring would have gradually fallen to Earth as meteorites, correlating to a spike of impacts seen in the geological record.

Earth and Saturn might be a lot more similar than previously thought. In a new study, a team of researchers suggests that 466 million years ago, a ring system made up of asteroid remnants may have surrounded our planet,

C ould Earth once have had a planetary ring like the ones around Saturn? Scientists from Monash University in Australia think so. In a recent paper they identify 450m-year-old craters that lie close to Earth’s historical equator.

Evidence suggests Earth had a ring system 466 million years ago, causing a surge in meteorite impacts and possibly influencing the planet's climate.

Scientists have concluded that the Earth may have had a ring system similar to Saturn's based on the analysis of the location of craters on our planet. Scientists claim that over 450 million years ago,