World Researchers say they finally know why slabs of glass litter this desert: An ancient, exploding comet November 5, 2021November 5, 2021Jay Cannon, USA TODAYComments Off on Researchers say they finally know why slabs of glass litter this desert: An ancient, exploding comet Glass slabs cover parts of the the Atacama Desert in Chile. A new study says they're the result of a comet explosion some 12,000 years ago.