Thinking about physical causation and information

Imagine a large asteroid impacts earth in the distant past, say several billion years ago. What does it mean physically when it is discovered in the 20th century and later in the early 21st century is read about by people world wide on the internet and in scientific publications? Since thinking and electronic and print texts are physical processes this event (cause) is still having real physical effects today including ones that encode the nature of the event. It is incredible to me that atoms moving 2 billion years ago can provide a cause that has as an effect description of specifically why atoms were moving 2 or 3 billion years ago but whether or not this description (information transmission across time) was ever uncovered depends on the fine details of the configuration of other matter that we call human beings. There is the proverbial butterfly effect where a butterfly in the Amazon causes are hurricane in the gulf of Mexico or whatever but I think the butterfly effect where an asteroid impact 2 billion years ago on one continent causes thoughts to form on another that recognize it as an asteroid impact is even more amazing.