Asteroid shattered near Jupiter may have bombarded Earth for 150M years

A massive asteroid that broke apart around 800 million years ago may have sent a huge number of rocky fragments towards Earth, the Moon and Mars, according to a new study led by researchers at the Southwest Research Institute.Scientists believe the collision happened in the main asteroid belt, the region between Mars and Jupiter where millions of asteroids orbit the Sun. The shattered pieces may have travelled through the inner solar system over millions of years, causing a long period of impacts on several rocky planets.The researchers say the event could help explain why the Moon has many large craters dating back to around 800 million years ago. They also suggest that the bombardment may have coincided with important changes in Earth's climate and the evolution of life.Looking for cluesScientists have long known that asteroid impacts have shaped planets throughout the solar system.