Tekites are a type of natural glass produced in such events as the energy released during the impact event melts material on the planet’s surface. A Window into the Past“These glasses are unique to Australia and have recorded an ancient impact event we did not even know about,” said co-author Professor Fred Jourdan of Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences. “They formed when an asteroid slammed into Earth, melting surface rock and scattering debris for thousands of kilometres,” Jourdan added. In doing so, the team identified a previously unknown tektite sourced from a single region in Australia, suggesting a previously known ancient impact. From this evidence, which displays a substantial deviation from known tektites, researchers are sure that their findings represent a previously unrecognized impact event in Earth’s past.