Reading: Strange glass reveals evidence of ‘missing’ asteroid strike that melted Earth’s surface

Strange glass reveals evidence of ‘missing’ asteroid strike that melted Earth’s surface

Last updated: 2025/10/02 at 11:01 PM

News Room Published 2 October 2025

Space is a weird place, and sometimes that weirdness comes crashing to Earth. In this case, scientists have found pieces of glass scattered across southern Australia which they believe came from an asteroid impact so massive it melted the Earth’s surface and chucked debris for hundreds of miles. The problem is, they don’t know where the previously unknown asteroid strike landed (Picture: Earth and Planetary Science Letters)

The find centres around rare tektites, which are natural glasses that are created when a space rock slams into Earth, but the newly discovered type have so far been found in an area mainly within South Australia. Most tektites can be traced back to one of five areas, which includes a colossal strike 800,000 years ago that spread debris across Australia and Southeast Asia, but these Australian samples tell a different story (Picture: Getty)

Co-author Professor Fred Jourdan said: ‘These glasses are unique to Australia and have recorded an ancient impact event we did not even know about. They formed when an asteroid slammed into Earth, melting surface rock and scattering debris for thousands of kilometres. These tiny pieces of glass are like little time capsules from deep in our planet’s history. What makes the discovery even more intriguing is that, although the impact must have been immense, scientists are yet to locate the crater. Understanding when and how often large asteroids have struck Earth also helps us assess the risk of future impacts, which is important for planetary defence’ (Picture: Getty)

The study is published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters and saw the researchers examine thousands of tektites which were stored in the South Australian Museum. After analysing them, the researchers focused on 417 tektites that did not match the usual chemical profile. Then further tests showed that six of them shared an identical composition with anomalous samples studied decades ago (stock image) (Picture: Getty)

The findings suggest that the tektites come from a separate impact that likely happened around 11 million years ago. The researchers are calling the new tektites ‘ananguites’ as ‘australite’ was already taken, opting for a name that honors local aboriginal communities. ‘Anangu’ means ‘human being’ for the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people (Picture: Getty)

The researchers said in their paper: ‘Based on their morphology, chemical homogeneity, low water content, presence of lechatelierite, extraterrestrial contamination (Ni, Co, Cr), geochemical and isotopic composition, and distinct age from Australasian tektites, HNa/K tektites can be defined as a new tektite group, which we propose to name ananguites’ (stock image) (Picture: Getty)

Now, the researchers need to find the missing asteroid crater. A hit to the Earth this big must have left a scar somewhere, and so far researchers are looking in areas like Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, or the Philippines. Since the glass came from deep within the Earth, the team are also looking at volcanically active areas – where the crater could be hiding in plain site (Picture: Getty)

But it shows how little we know of our own planet’s history, and it raises a question on how often Earth has been hit by massive asteroids. If this event has been overlooked in the past, then there is a chance that similar events have happened more than anyone realised. This image shows the Barringer Crater in the USA (Picture: Getty)

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