Earth formed via planetary collisions, new research suggests
- 7 years ago
SPACE — Two new studies published in the journal Nature may have shed some light on how Earth's strange chemical make-up came to be.
The Washington Post reports that the solar system began some 4.6 billion years ago as a swirling disk of gas and dust. This all came together to form rocks, planetesimals, and eventually, full-sized planets.
Scientists have long been puzzled by the difference in composition between Earth and the meteorites believed to have formed it. The answer, it seems, lies in Earth's explosive history.
Early Earth often collided with other planetary bodies, with the impact generating enough heat to turn rocks into either magma or hot vapor.
One study, led by a University of Bristol geochemist, calculated that planet lost 40 percent of its mass from this process.
A second study, from Oxford University, combined Earth rock with volatile elements such as gold, silver, and zinc oxide, and heated it to 1,300 degrees Celsius. After cooling the rock, they discovered that the volatile elements had evaporated.
This same vapor loss was found in samples from Mars and the asteroid Vesta, suggesting that the phenomenon occurs in similar-sized bodies.
The Washington Post reports that the solar system began some 4.6 billion years ago as a swirling disk of gas and dust. This all came together to form rocks, planetesimals, and eventually, full-sized planets.
Scientists have long been puzzled by the difference in composition between Earth and the meteorites believed to have formed it. The answer, it seems, lies in Earth's explosive history.
Early Earth often collided with other planetary bodies, with the impact generating enough heat to turn rocks into either magma or hot vapor.
One study, led by a University of Bristol geochemist, calculated that planet lost 40 percent of its mass from this process.
A second study, from Oxford University, combined Earth rock with volatile elements such as gold, silver, and zinc oxide, and heated it to 1,300 degrees Celsius. After cooling the rock, they discovered that the volatile elements had evaporated.
This same vapor loss was found in samples from Mars and the asteroid Vesta, suggesting that the phenomenon occurs in similar-sized bodies.