According to a new theory from the Centre for Star and Planet Formation (StarPlan), the early form of our planet, the proto-Earth, formed within a time span of approximately five million years. Spellbound researchers at the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen suggest that this is very swift on the astronomical scale. Simply put, if the solar system formed in 24 hours, then proto-Earth formed in just 1.5 minutes. The study has been published in Science Advances.
Crux of the Matter
There is a Proto-Earth too? Proto-Earth is thought to be the initial state of Planet Earth. The ‘giant-impact hypothesis’ states that Theia, a hypothesized ancient planet in the early Solar System collided with Gaia, to form Proto-earth around 4.5 billion years ago. It explains why Earth’s core is larger than would be expected for a body its size: its core and mantle mixed with Earth’s.
Is Mystic Cosmic Dust Behind it All? In an official statement, study lead researcher Martin Schiller summed it up by saying “We start from dust, essentially.” Apparently planets formed through the accretion of cosmic dust, a process in which dust attracts more and more particles through gravity. With accretion, millimetre-size particles came together to ‘rain’ on the growing body and make the planet in one go. The team made the finding by studying iron isotopes, that are different versions of the element iron, in meteorite dust. They realized that only one type had an iron profile that was similar to Earth’s: the CI chondrites, which are stony meteorites. The dust in these chondrites is the best approximation available for the solar system’s overall composition. It overprinted the iron composition in the Earth’s mantle, which is only possible if most of the previous iron was already removed into the core, which proves the early core formation.
What is in it for Other Planets?
Now we know that planet formation happens everywhere. When we understand these mechanisms in our own solar system, we might make similar inferences about other planetary systems in the galaxy. It may also throw light on how water is accreted during planet formation. After all, making the ingredients of life as we know it, can be found elsewhere in the universe too. – Martin Bizzarro, a co-researcher in the study
The new findings are an eye-opener to the earth specialists as it directly gives rise to the supposition that other planets in the universe may have grown much faster too. In fact, as per the data gathered on thousands of exoplanets in other galaxies, there is already evidence that this is a likely case.
New observations on the farthest, most primitive object in the Solar System ever to be visited by a spacecraft – #Arrokoth – offer a unique glimpse into the early formation of our Solar System and perhaps the planet Earth. @sciencemagazine https://t.co/8XAoRvxs36 @NASANewHorizons pic.twitter.com/WQKp1JcUjo — The SETI Institute (@SETIInstitute) February 14, 2020
Curiopedia
Accretion in astrophysics – is the accumulation of particles into a massive object by gravitationally attracting more matter, typically gaseous matter, in an accretion disk. Most astronomical objects, such as galaxies, stars, and planets, are formed by accretion processes. A few hundred thousand years after the Big Bang, the Universe cooled to the point where atoms could form. As the Universe continued to expand and cool, the atoms lost enough kinetic energy, and dark matter coalesced sufficiently, to form protogalaxies. As further accretion occurred, galaxies formed. Indirect evidence is widespread. Galaxies grow through mergers and smooth gas accretion. Accretion also occurs inside galaxies, forming stars. The 1944 accretion model by Otto Schmidt was further developed in a quantitative way in 1969 by Viktor Safronov. It is now accepted that stars form by the gravitational collapse of interstellar gas. Prior to collapse, this gas is mostly in the form of molecular clouds, such as the Orion Nebula. As the cloud collapses, losing potential energy, it heats up, gaining kinetic energy, and the conservation of angular momentum ensures that the cloud forms a flattened, accretion disk. More Info
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