When we walk around in our everyday life, we might not think of the Earth itself very often. But this planet is the foundation of our life. The air we breathe, the water we drink and the gravity that pins us to the ground.
Up until now, researchers believed that it took more than 100 million years for the Earth to form. And it was also common belief that water was delivered by lucky collisions with water-rich asteroids like comets.
However, a new study from the University of Copenhagen suggests that it might not have happened entirely by chance.
“We show that the Earth formed by the very fast accumulation of small millimeter-sized pebbles. In this mechanism, the Earth was formed in just a few million years. Based on our findings, it appears that the presence of water on Earth is a byproduct of its formation,” says Martin Bizzarro, who is a Professor at Globe Institute and one of the researchers behind the new study.
The results of the research not only show that the Earth was created much faster than previously thought, but that the presence of water is a predicted outcome of its formation process. This is important knowledge because it tells us something about planets outside our own solar system.
2023-06-14 11:00:04
Link from phys.org