Scientists from Curtin University in Australia have made an unexpected discovery. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
They identified previously unknown traces of an asteroid impact, according to the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. During the research, specialists studied tektites.
Tektites are natural glass formed when celestial bodies collide with the Earth. The samples preserved in the museum have a unique composition, and their age was estimated to be approximately 11 million years.
Comparative analysis revealed that the newly found tektites are almost 15 times older than previously studied samples. This suggests that they may be related to a completely different and previously unrecorded cosmic event.
Nevertheless, despite the likely large scale of the impact, scientists have not yet been able to identify the crater of the asteroid strike. This discovery further enriches the understanding of how the effects of cosmic bodies leave traces on the Earth's surface.
Future research will focus on determining the exact location of the asteroid impact.
