Ancient Asteroid Might Have Ended The Last Ice Age
A massive crater in Australia is the key to finding out about how the ice age ended. Scientists have identified that this crater belongs to the the most ancient asteroid ever found, dating back for more than 2.2 billion years. What the data are showing us that the asteroid is half the age of our planet, and landed in Western Australia, in Yarrabubba. Scientists have collected minerals from the rocks founded at the site, and they have tested it for a proper conclusion.
We are going back to 1979 when a team of geologists found the crater in Australia, in a dry period. At that moment, the geologist didn’t test the hole and the rocks from it. What is more interesting about the crater is that you can’t see it with the naked eyed. For finding the cavity, the area got mapped, and with the help of the magnetic field, they have found the diameter of the hole. The two billion years of erosion left a mark, so after scanning the zone, they discovered a crater with a diameter of 70 kilometers.
The Most Ancient Asteroid Might Have Ended The Last Ice Age
Scientists wanted to know when the asteroid hit the planet, so for that, they have analyzed little pieces or zircon and monazite crystals from the rocks. The findings are showing small quantities of uranium. This substance is decomposing very slowly in plumb, so this process helps scientists to find the time passed. The results are confirming that the crater is 200 million years older than the ancient Vredefort Dome from South Africa.
Drawing to a close, scientists are saying that the timing of the impact is corresponding with the end of the Snowball Earth period. The Snowball Earth period was the time when everything was covered in ice and snow. After some time, the planet began to warm at a rapid pace, so the thoughts are directed to the impact. Some of their calculations with computer programs are showing that the impact of the asteroid broken into the ice sheet, which released immense volumes of water and greenhouse gases.
Tiesha loves to share her passion for everything that’s beautiful in this world. Apart from writing on her beauty blog and running her own beauty channel on Youtube, she also enjoys traveling and photography. Tiesha covers various stories on the website.
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