They are denser than their surrounds, implying that they are comprised of a different material than the rest of the Earth’s mantle – and we may now have a better understanding of how they got there.
The experts believe it could be the result of a planet called Theia colliding with the Earth 4.5 billion years ago, generating the Moon.
In a theoretical essay published in Nature, eleven writers proposed evidence that this distinct mantle within our Earth could be an ancient planet that collided with Earth, generating the Moon from its flying fragments.
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By studying the anomalies in the Earth’s mantle and comparing them to the matter around them, the researchers hypothesize that they are buried relics of Theia mantle material preserved billions of years after the Moon-forming collision.
The research team utilized giant-impact simulations to indicate that a portion of Theia’s mantle may have penetrated proto-Earth’s lower mantle.
They could observe that Theia would have had a larger density because the Moon has more iron.
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This means that if there are samples within the Earth that match the density and composition of Theia, it supports the notion that Theia crashed into Earth, resulting in our Moon.
The team wrote that Theia’s stuff surviving deep within Earth would ‘be a natural outcome of the Moon-forming big impact’.
The research team came to the following conclusion: “Because giant impacts are common at the end stages of planet accretion, similar mantle heterogeneities caused by impacts may also exist in the interiors of other planetary bodies.”
Those of us who do not hold PhDs in astrophysics were perplexed by the news.
At the time, one reader said, “The Earth is kind of like a lava lamp. However, the blobs take a very long time to travel about.
“I remember watching a documentary about what’s going on below Yellowstone and the grand Tetons and they also basically said what’s going on below is kind of like a lava lamp.”
That is one way to look at things.
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