2023-11-02 10:36:22
The dominant theory on the formation of the Moon speaks of a cataclysmic collision 4 billion years ago: the satellite would have been formed by a collision between the Earth and a protoplanet. But where did this body go, of which we have no trace, named Théia? It could in fact be not in space, but underground: in question, two regions of the Earth’s mantle presented as abnormally dense and hot anomalies.
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Pieces of Theia in the earth’s mantle
The study of seismic waves makes it possible to determine the internal structure of the planet: the density and internal temperature of the planet modify the speed of these waves, which provides valuable data to scientists. But two regions in particular stand out following these observations, where the density remarkably slows down these seismic waves. Analysis of the gases of these anomalies shows that they have been present since the beginning of the Solar System.
A study published in Nature conducted by researcher Qian Yuan of the California Institute of Technology suggests that these high-density zones could in fact arise from a still hypothetical event, the collision between Theia and Earth.
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The Moon contains much more iron oxide than the Earth, so this iron oxide must come from Theia. But this compound is denser than a large part of the materials making up the Earth’s mantle, therefore explaining the reaction of seismic waves. The collision would also have occurred at the beginning of the Solar System, 4.6 billion years ago, which would explain the age of the anomalies.
The brutal birth of the Moon
However, there remains a problem: the collision should have caused the terrestrial and Theian materials to merge, preventing the formation of distinct anomalies. Another model, however, would answer this puzzle: according to this one, the remains of Theia and the Earth would have merged on the upper half of the Earth’s mantle, but materials from the protoplanet would have passed below this limit while remaining intact.
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The size of the latter would remain small, but their high density would have caused them to gather lower in the Earth’s mantle as they “flowed” towards the center of the Earth. If this theory is only in its early stages, it could well serve to explain how the only natural satellite of the Blue Planet was formed.
On the same topic :
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