A weird number of craters are located close to the equator, and the odds that this is random are incredibly low, researchers say.

Researchers have found evidence suggesting that our planet may have once had a ring system around 466 million years ago.

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

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.

Earth may have had a Saturn-like ring system long ago, created from the debris of a passing asteroid that our planet tore apart.

“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.”

During a tumultuous period for our planet around 466 million years ago, Earth was pelted with meteorites and rocked by tsunamis. But geologists have uncovered some strange things about this moment in history.

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.