Signs of Our Galaxy's Arms May Be Trapped in Some of Earth's Crystals

When most of us think about what shaped our planet, we probably picture volcanoes, earthquakes, and huge continents slowly drifting apart (or back together again) over millions or billions of years. We also know meteorite impacts were important; our crater-packed Moon is clear evidence of that.

But what if Earth's geological story was also written further afield in the stars – specifically, in the spiral arms of our home galaxy, the Milky Way?

That's the bold idea that has been resonating behind some recent research that links astrophysics with geology.

So far, these controversial ideas have been based on models , limited by gaps in Earth's geological record and the uncertainties in our Solar System's galactic path.

But our new study, published this week in , takes a different