Many experts believe that Earth likely collided with a small planet not long after Earth's formation. Now a team has proposed that huge sections of planet Theia remain pooled in the Earth's mantle.
Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsAn ancient planet named Theia collided with Earth some 4.5 billion years ago and left large amounts of its iron-rich material embedded in our planet, according to a new study.
Researchers first identified the material by studying seismic waves, which travel more slowly in the denser material. The continent-sized deposits lie beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean and are each about twice the size of the moon.As dramatic as it may sound, our collision with a wayward, Mars-sized planet is the best-accepted theory for the origin of the moon.
The team’s convection models showed that blobs “tens of kilometers” in size would have sunk into Earth and piled up in the lower mantle, where they still amount to about 2 percent of Earth’s mass.Because of the lower mantle’s relative coolness, the blobs fell like globs of paraffin wax in a lava lamp, instead of mixing like colors in a can of paint. The material’s unusual density – somewhere between 2 and 3.
This isn’t the first time someone has connected the high-density blobs to Theia, Robin Canup, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, toldWhen Did Theia Collide With Earth?concluded that Earth was a mere 100 million years old when it collided with Theia and tore free the material that formed the moon.
But not all scientists agree this is how the moon came to be as it may have formed from the same cloud of gas and dust that filled the early solar system. Or it may have formed elsewhere and fell into Earth’s gravity well.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Planet Earth III Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via AMC PlusWondering how and where you can watch Planet Earth 3 online? Here are all the streaming details you might need!
Read more »
Deep Earth Discovery: Fragments of Ancient Planet Found in MantleScience, Space and Technology News 2023
Read more »
Planet Earth III: How cookie cutter nature programming could fail to educate, inform audiencesPerhaps nothing embodies the BBC's values of inform, educate and entertain more than its nature documentaries. Planet Earth III is the latest in a proud tradition going back to the founding of the BBC Natural History Unit in 1957 and has everything devoted fans (myself included) expect.
Read more »
10 Baldur's Gate 3 Clothing Pieces To Add To Tav's WardrobeAlthough there are so many different cool and powerful armor options in Baldur's Gate 3, only a few are must-haves for Tav's extensive wardrobe.
Read more »
Tyson Chicken Nuggets Recalled Over Small Metal Pieces in ProductNearly 30,000 pounds of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets have been recalled by maker Tyson Foods Inc. after customers discovered small bits of metal in some of the nuggets.
Read more »
36 Stunning Pieces Of Cold-Weather ClothingBrrr, it's getting cold outside but luckily these pieces are both warm *and* fabulous.
Read more »