A new study is challenging the longstanding theory that Earth formed in a pinball fashion, through random collisions of rocky stellar bodies that crushed together through gravity. And arguing that other earth-like planets likely have water.
Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsis challenging the longstanding theory that Earth formed in a pinball fashion, through random collisions of rocky stellar bodies that crushed together through gravity. The water we enjoy would have collided at random, too, when one or more comets smashed into the growing planet, the old theory says.
“If that is how Earth was formed, then it is pretty lucky that we have water on Earth,” says Martin Schiller, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, in aA Planet of Pebbles But the new paper argues that luck has nothing to do with it as water is a normal part of planetary formation. Any Earth-like planet should have the molecule critical to life as we know it, and this exoplanet should have formed relatively quickly, as our planet did.The Earth, once thought to have slowly accreted over 100 million years, actually took less than three, the paper says.
“There was a disk around the young Sun where the planets were growing,” says Isaac Onyett, a Ph.D. student at the, in a press release. “The disk was filled with small dust particles. Once a planet reaches a certain size, it sorts of acts like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up all that dust very quickly. And that makes it grow to the size of earth in just a few million years.”Meanwhile, icy particles in the disk would have joined the pebbles in forming the new Earth.
“This process contributes to the presence of water during Earth’s formation, rather than relying on a chance event delivering water 100 million years later,” says Onyett.search for water-rich exoplanets“This theory would predict that whenever you form a planet like Earth, you will have water on it,” says Martin Bizzarro, a professor at the University of Copenhagen, in a press release.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Could Earth be inside a black hole?And for that matter, could our universe be inside a black hole?
Read more »
Humans are pumping out so much groundwater that it's changing Earth's tiltAnd it could even affect climate.
Read more »
Pixar's 'Elio' trailer reveals Earth's pint-sized leader in new cosmic adventureHere's a sneak peek at next year's animated sci-fi extravaganza from the makers of 'Coco.'
Read more »
Salt from space could explain where Earth got its water, U of A researchers sayFor Star subscribers: A salty discovery by scientists at the University of Arizona could bolster the idea that most, if not all, of the water on Earth was delivered here long ago inside of space rocks.
Read more »
Scientists have controversial theory for how — and how fast — Earth formedIn a new study released in Nature this week, researchers state that Earth formed within just 3 million years. That’s notably faster than previous estimates placing the timeline up to 100 million years.
Read more »
Even Though Its Surface Is a Horror Show, Life Could Thrive Elsewhere On VenusVenus, but for some quirk of planetary evolution, could have been Earth or vice versa.
Read more »