Summary:
- About 56 million years ago, the Earth experienced a period of rapid global warming known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM).
- Scientists believe that the passing of a nearby star may have caused this warming event by disrupting the orbits of icy objects in the outer solar system, leading to a release of greenhouse gases.
- This study suggests that the influence of nearby stars on a planet's climate can be an important factor in understanding past and future climate changes on Earth.