Tag: early solar system
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JWST Reveals Comet-Building Crystals Leaping from Young Star’s Disk
Overview: A startling glimpse into early planet formation In a finding that reads like a cosmic mystery novel, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a rare process unfolding in a newly born star’s surroundings. Scientists report that blazing heat near the young star forges crystals and then launches them toward the icy outer…
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Did a colossal asteroid reshape the Moon from the inside? New lunar rocks hint at a giant impact
Introduction: A clue from lunar rocks New analysis of basaltic rock samples returned to Earth from the Moon’s South Pole–Aitken Basin by China’s Chang’e 6 mission is stirring debate in planetary science. An unusual ratio of potassium isotopes in these rocks points to a dramatic event early in the Moon’s history — a colossal asteroid…
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Theia and the Moon: Early Neighbors in the Solar System
Did Theia Start as a Nearby Planet? Rethinking the Moon’s Birth For decades, scientists have told a dramatic tale: a colossal asteroid-like body named Theia collided with young Earth, smashing and mixing to birth the Moon. This violent event, believed to have occurred about 4.5 billion years ago, has been the centerpiece of our understanding…
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Were Theia and Earth Neighbors Before the Moon? Rewriting Our Origins
Introduction: A New Twist on an Ancient Tale For decades, the giant-impact hypothesis has explained how the Moon formed: a colossal collision between young Earth and a Mars-sized body named Theia, followed by a chaotic merger that left Earth with a shiny lunar companion. But recent studies are nudging scientists to rethink a crucial piece…
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Proto Earth Revealed: First Evidence of a 4.5-Billion-Year-Old Building Block Remains Discovered
Uncovering the Very Beginning of Earth Geologists and planetary scientists have unearthed what could be the oldest remnants of our planet, offering a rare glimpse into the very seeds of Earth. In a study published in Nature Geoscience, an international team led by researchers from MIT reports a chemical signature that may trace back to…
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Proto Earth Revealed: First Evidence of a 4.5-Billion-Year-Old Building Block
A Glimpse into Earth’s Distant Origins Scientists at MIT and collaborating institutions have uncovered what may be the first direct evidence of proto Earth—the primordial material that predated the giant impact that transformed our planet. Reported in Nature Geosciences, these findings hinge on a subtle imbalance in potassium isotopes detected in some of the oldest…
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Liquid Water on Ryugu Reveals a Billion-Year-Old Secret
Liquid Water on Ryugu: A Hidden Water Trail Across Time A recent study of tiny rock fragments returned from the asteroid Ryugu by JAXA’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has upended assumptions about when and how water could move through asteroids. The research, involving scientists from the University of Tokyo among others, shows that liquid water once traversed…