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How do we know that another planet collided with the Earth? I saw a TV programme that said during the Earth’s evolution another planet called Thea smashed into it. How do we know this when it doesn’t exist anymore? Peter Robinson |
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Chris - Well, we have to go by what the models are telling us and what samples we’ve got. We’ve got a very large moon around the earth. In fact, it’s unfeasibly large for a planet of our size. Why have we got such a big moon where it is? What the prediction is, and based on what we know about the composition of the moon from samples that the Apollo astronauts have brought back is that the moon is made of exactly the same stuff, give or take, as the surface of the Earth – the Earth’s crust. The big question is how did something made pretty much of the same material as the Earth end up orbiting the Earth unless something bashed it an put it up there? The best suggestion that scientists can come up with, based on all the evidence we have, is that during the early phases of the formation of the solar system (something like 4.5 billion years ago) there were two planets. One a future Earth, one another planet which they’ve notionally called Thea. These were very similar in terms of their orbital pattern. One ran into another – it was like cosmic billiards that went on. As a consequence of their massive great collision the cores of both planets effectively fused. In the course of this collision a lot of the surface material from the Earth got ejected into space and it formed a sort of shroud around the Earth which slowly coalesced in the same way that rings around Saturn have coalesced to what would have originally been an envelope. They then coalesced and aggregated to form the moon. It’s on the basis of there’s no other better explanation than that one to explain why we have this phenomenon of this big moon and what the moon’s made of. |
February 2009 |
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peter Robinson asked the Naked Scientists:
A TV programme stated that during Earth's evolution another planet, Theia?, smashed into it. How do they know this, how do they know when and how do you name a (now) non-existent thing?
What do you think?
- Pe-Pe - 19th Dec 08
We don't know it because there was no one there to witness and record it. However, the consequences of it are apparent today and these form a record of evidence for which the planetoid collision scenario is by far the best fit solution.
- LeeE - 19th Dec 08
LeeE: Is correct;too see this evidence you simply have to look up.The answer to this question;began with another question.Where did the moon come from? Not only do we have our own moon but we only see one side of it the reason for this is in its early stages of formation the moon was molten like lava in fact it was lava. The liquid moon began to cool at the same time as it orbited our planet the gravitational pull of the moon on the earth so close to our planet in its original orbit slowed the rotation of the earth. The way this works is through the tidal forces that still pull at the earth today;Kind of slowing the planet like dragging A boat paddle throw the water to slow A canoe. At the same time the earth is doing the same thing to the moon;as the moon cooled it became more solid and eventually locked its rotation to its orbit around our planet. Soil samples from the moon have been studied and are known to be made up of mostly the same material as found on our planet.So Either some thing come along and sliced A moon size chunk off A much bigger earth;(man that's A big knife!)or A smaller earth collided with A smaller planet that was moving in just the right trajectory to hit the planet not dead on;that would have resulted in A situation where the material would have globbed together into A single planet;but at an angle that could leave enough molten material in orbit after gravity and friction had it out;too form our moon... Hope this helps TECHFACTOR:OUT
- TECHFACTOR - 19th Dec 08
You can find all the evidence of Thea in a book called; the cataclysmic impact/planet earth's most violent intersect. It clearly provides an abundance of evidence, concentrating on Earth's biggest and most profound impact crater.
Vredefort, Barringer, and Chicxulub craters combined, would not equal a quarter of this impact's enormity.
- DR - 23rd Dec 09
OK, seems logical- but then where did the rest of Thea go to??
- Wells - 12th Jan 10
The Earth is believed to have absorbed the other planet which had been in the same orbit as Earth. It slowly caught up to the Earth. It was a Mars sized planet. They collided at small angle instead of a direct collision. This allowed the Earth to absorb the other planet. Most of it is believed to have gone into the core of the Earth making it just right for us today. The entire planet was molten for quite awhile. The collision is also believed to have blew off excess water into space so we ended up with the perfect amount for us today. The collision also threw out a lot of rocky type debris which eventually setteled into the large moon we now have that is so essential to keep Earth on a perfect axis as well as regulate tides and other things. Personally, I give The Creator credit for such a fine tuning event that made it possible for us to have intelligent life on Earth today. There is an abundance of other fine tuning facts that make the chances of this all accidentally happening numerically so small that it equals zero.
See the whole discussion | Make a comment- Carl - 20th Jan 10
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