Asteroid Studies Suggest Impact on Earth's History, Antarctica, Ordinary Chondrite, Water Molecules, Airburst, Snowball Earth

Recent studies and discoveries suggest that asteroids may have had a significant impact on Earth's history. Chemical analysis of ancient rock samples from Antarctica indicates that they are consistent with a type of asteroid known as an ordinary chondrite. Additionally, evidence for an asteroid 'airburst' occurring between 2.3 million and 2.7 million years ago over Antarctica has been uncovered. Scientists have also confirmed the presence of water molecules on the surface of asteroids for the first time. Furthermore, a model-based study suggests a new hypothesis for 'snowball' Earth, proposing that a large asteroid impact could trigger the phenomenon during cold climate periods, such as ice ages. These findings support the argument that asteroid strikes may have contributed to global glaciation in the distant past.