It may seem like Earth isn't as well-decorated as its ring-bearing neighbors in the solar system, but new research suggests ...

3 min read During the Ordovician period ... For the most part the Earth's climate was warm and wet, with sea levels rising as much as 1,970 feet (600 meters) above those of today.

This surprising hypothesis, published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, stems from plate tectonic reconstructions for the Ordovician period noting the positions of 21 asteroid impact craters.

Researchers have proposed that Earth may have had a ring system 466 million years ago, during a period of intense meteorite bombardment known as the Ordovician impact spike. This finding ...