There may be a fragment of an ancient planet hidden inside the Earth. This is the result of a gigantic collision

The Earth formed in the Sun’s orbit about 4.5 billion years ago, but initially it had no cosmic companion in the form of the Moon. According to current research, it was created shortly (about 34 million years) later as a result of a massive collision between Earth and an alien planet (or protoplanet) the size of Mars. Today we call this alien planet Thea.

The remains of an ancient planet may be hidden inside the Earth

A team of researchers led by Qian Yuan from the California Institute of Technology believe that a large fragment of Theia may still be hidden deep inside the Earth. a fragment of the ancient planet may have the size typical of today’s continents and be located deep in the Earth’s mantle, near the core of our planet – about 2,900 km below the surface.

We currently know that at this depth there are two “spots” of material that stand out from the background of the mantle, which – according to the new study – may be the remains of Theia. According to computer models developed by the team, the massive alien rock should be rich in iron and have a density of 2 to 3.5 percent. larger than the Earth’s mantle. It is expected to have a mass of 1/60 to 1/40 of the total mass of our planet.

Moreover, researchers do not rule out that fragments of matter remaining from Thea may still stimulate Earth’s volcanism and cause the phenomenon of subduction (the process of one tectonic plate pressing under another). This hypothesis may explain the unique activity in the Solar System of the massive tectonic plates that make up the planet’s surface. It is the movement of plates that is responsible for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the formation of mountains. Scientists now want to perform further research to find more evidence to support the hypothesis.

According to the great impact theory, the collision of the Earth with the planet Thea seriously influenced the development of the young Earth, and its consequences meant that advanced forms of life, including, of course, humans, could later develop on the Blue Planet. Some researchers believe that Thea shifted the Earth’s orbit, changing its climate to a more favorable one. The collision also changed the angle of the Earth’s rotation axis relative to the Sun, which is why we have the seasons we have today. Without the Moon resulting from the collision, we would not have tides, and the Earth’s day would be significantly shorter, which would certainly influence the evolution of life on Earth in some way.