Science Solves The Mystery Of The Birth Of The Object Theia That Collided With The Earth To Form The Moon
Science Solves The Mystery Of The Birth Of The Object Theia That Collided With The Earth To Form The Moon
A new study revealed that “Theia” did not come from afar, but rather formed in the vicinity of Earth within the inner solar system, which means that it was once a neighbor of our planet.
Scientists knew that the collision changed the shape of the Earth, its composition, and its orbit around the sun, in addition to creating the moon. But the problem is that the object “Theia” was completely destroyed in the collision, so important questions about it remained unanswered: What is its nature? What is its size?
What is it made of? Where in the solar system did it come from?
Now, a recent scientific team has attempted to answer these questions with a “component list” for Thea. By analyzing these components, they determined where it originated in the solar system.
Team leader Timo Hope explains: “It is most likely that Earth and Theia formed together in the same region of the inner solar system, and they were adjacent.”
How was Theia rebuilt?
Scientists used a method based on analyzing “isotopes,” which are different forms of chemical elements. In the past, these isotopes were unevenly distributed throughout the solar system. Therefore, the percentage of its presence in any body acts like a “fingerprint” that reveals the place of formation of this body (whether it was close to the sun or far from it).
The team analyzed isotopes of four elements (iron, chromium, molybdenum, and zirconium) in rocks from Earth and the Moon. The results reaffirmed that the Earth and the Moon have a very similar composition. But the team went further, using these findings to reimagine the possible size and composition of Theia that would lead to this similarity.
Scientists found important evidence in the composition of the Earth itself. Before Theia’s impact, the Earth had already formed a molten metal core in which heavy elements such as iron accumulated.
This made these elements rare in the layer below the crust (mantle). Therefore, any iron found in the mantle today likely came from outside Earth, namely from Theia.
One of the scientists involved in the study explains: “The composition of any body stores within it the entire story of its formation, including its place of birth.”
In order to understand deeply the origin of Theia, scientists turned to precious evidence available on Earth: meteorites. These meteorites are artifacts of primordial asteroids that formed at the dawn of the solar system, making them representative specimens of different compositions from across the solar system.
When the team compared Earth’s chemical composition with those of these known meteorites, they found that Earth consisted of a mixture consistent with multiple types of meteorites that originated in diverse locations across the solar system.
But when they analyzed the chemical composition they thought represented Theia, they faced a big surprise: Theia’s proposed composition did not match any of the types of meteorite we know about. This discrepancy indicates that Theia was made of unique and mysterious materials, different from those that formed the Earth and known meteorites.
The best explanation for this difference is that Theia originated in a different region of the solar system, likely in a location that was closer to the Sun than the location where Earth formed. This new vision not only solves the mystery of Theia’s collision with Earth, but also sheds new light on the rich diversity of materials that formed the planets of our solar system in its early stages.
Source: Space
Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification. We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.
Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification.
We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.
Author: uaetodaynews
Published on: 2025-11-21 20:24:00
Source: uaetodaynews.com
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