Overview

• The study, published August 29 in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, identifies a distinct group of tektites from South Australia that researchers have named “ananguites.”
• Analyses show the glasses differ in chemistry and age from the 780,000‑year‑old Australasian strewn field, indicating a separate, much older impact event.
• Scientists examined thousands of South Australian Museum specimens, selected 417 for detailed work in France, and found six that matched the anomalous signature noted in earlier decades.
• The source crater remains undiscovered, with the team highlighting likely candidates in volcanically active arcs near the Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea where an impact structure could be obscured or misidentified.
• The finding refines Earth’s large‑impact record and informs estimates of impact frequency, a key input for assessing future risk and planetary defense planning.