In the primordial expanse of the Solar System, a cataclysmic event forged the Moon, scattering debris from a world the size of Mars that collided with Earth. This lost world, known as Theia, has long been shrouded in mystery, but new research has begun to unravel its origin story. A team of planetary scientists, led by Timo Hopp, has made groundbreaking discoveries that tie Theia to the inner Solar System, where Earth was born.
By analyzing subtle chemical fingerprints in ancient rocks, the researchers compared tiny differences in the makeup of Moon rocks, Earth rocks, and meteorites. This painstaking work revealed that Theia's birthplace was likely close to the Sun, rather than in the outer Solar System, as previously thought. This revelation upends conventional ideas about the stages of planet growth and offers a fresh perspective on the early Solar System. The giant-impact hypothesis, a model that suggests a collision of worlds threw debris into orbit around Earth, has saved significant support from research.
Hopp's research focuses on using isotopic fingerprints – differences in neutron counts within the same element – to rebuild the histories of young planets. This innovative approach has allowed scientists to track the origins of Theia with unprecedented precision.
About 4.5 billion years ago, a world the size of Mars crashed into Earth and scattered debris that became the Moon.Here's one of the sources related to this article: Check here
No comments:
Post a Comment