Researchers have discovered evidence of a mysterious giant asteroid impact in small glass fragments that are unique to Australia rather than in a crater.
In a statement issued on Thursday, September 18, Australia's Curtin University said the discovery focused on rare tektites, which are naturally occurring glasses formed when a space rock collides with Earth, melting surface material and sending it hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away.
According to the statement, only one location, primarily in the Australian state of South Australia, has so far yielded the recently found tektite type, which dates to approximately 11 million years ago.
Professor Fred Jourdan from Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, "These glasses are unique to Australia and have recorded an ancient impact event we did not even know about."
According to Jourdan, a co-author of the study that was published in the Dutch scientific journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, discovering a new tektite field is similar to starting a new chapter in Earth's violent geological past.
"These tiny pieces of glass are like little time capsules from deep in our planet's history," he said.
No crater has been discovered yet, but the impact must have been enormous. According to Jourdan, knowing the frequency and timing of major asteroid impacts is essential for planetary defense and aids in estimating future impact risks.
Anna Musolino, researcher at France's Aix-Marseille University and the lead author of the study, said, "While the Australasian tektites formed about 780,000 years ago and are spread across half the globe, these tektites are much older and their discovery suggests a previously unrecognized giant impact."
"These tektites are unique because of their unusual chemistry and their age, which is about 11 million years," Musolino said.
