Did you know Earth used to have rings? – I'm a Scientist 2024/25

Question: Did you know Earth used to have rings?
- Keywords:
  Earth,
  rings,
  saturn,
  space
Asked by menu520phew to Sheridan, Martin M, Chloe L on 25 Mar 2025.
- Sheridan Williams answered on 25 Mar 2025:
  
  No, where did you hear that?
- Martin McCoustra answered on 26 Mar 2025:
  
  The Earth was formed from accretion of dust into pebble and into larger and larger objects such that the proto-Earth may have looked like it had rings but these were not gravitationally stable as are the rings of Saturn. A similar debris ring probably circulated around the Earth after it was hit by the object which resulted in the formation of the Moon. But again it wasn’t gravitationally stable.

Question: Did you know Earth used to have rings?