About 3.85 billion years ago, these eternal space travelers, comets whose cores consist mainly of ice, literally bombed the planet Earth and its moon satellite.
According to the online publication NewScientist, Uv Jorgensen, an astronomer from the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen (Denmark), came to this conclusion based on an analysis of the chemical composition of rocks and stony blocks left over from prehistoric times in Greenland.
Previously, it was widely believed that the Earth and the Moon, after their formation, were presumably bombed by asteroids about 4.5 billion years ago.
This period, dubbed the "late heavy bombardment," is recorded between 3.9 and 3.8 billion years ago.
In addition, comets brought to our planet the bulk of the water available here.
A Danish astronomer has calculated that almost all existing craters on the Moon belong to the above-mentioned period, when a total of about 100 million billion estimated tons of rock or ice crashed onto the lunar surface.
At the same time, the "waste" of that great bombardment fell to the Earth, although later tectonic transformations in the earth's surface erased the "scars" received during that turbulent time from the face of the planet.
To find out "who&Responsible for the massive bombardment of the Moon and Earth – asteroids or comets, Jorgensen used measurements of the presence of iridium metal in the chemical composition of prehistoric rock.
Iridium is usually found in both comets and asteroids.
Since comets develop enormous speeds exceeding the speed of asteroids, when they collide with any surface, they lift up giant plumes from explosions, as a result of which much more iridium escapes into space than during an asteroid attack.
Thus, scientists have calculated that when an asteroid hits the surface of the Moon or Earth, the number of iridium particles will range from 10,000 to 18,000 units per trillion in rocky rock, while for comets the same indicator will range from 10 to 130.
The analysis of rocks delivered from the Moon by American spacecraft as part of the Apollo missions also indicated the presence of iridium in the range of 10 or less particles per trillion.
An analysis of rocks dating back to 3.8 billion years ago found in Greenland, conducted with a high degree of accuracy by a Japanese laboratory, indicates the presence of iridium in them at the level of 150 particles per trillion.
Thus, scientists believe that it was comets, not asteroids, that relentlessly bombarded the Moon and Earth.
Thanks to such intense bombardment, according to Jorgensen's calculations, 3,400 tons of ice "remains" fell on every square meter of the earth's surface." comets.
About half of the volume of this material "ricocheted off&"back into space due to giant explosions, leaving a total of roughly 1 billion cubic kilometers of cometary water on Earth."".
This volume of liquid corresponds to the volume of moisture that the oceans currently have.
However, scientists note that it is not yet clear whether any water was present on Earth in the early phases of the planet's development, which could have happened due to chemical reactions. Le programme de fidélité et les promotions régulières complètent parfaitement ce bonus de bienvenue généreux pour les joueurs actifs. Pour activer cette offre de départ, n'oubliez pas d'utiliser le code promo 1xbet cote d'ivoire en remplissant le formulaire d'inscription. Ce code vous procure un bonus de bienvenue de 100% jusqu'à 130€ sur votre premier dépôt, mais aussi un pack casino de 1950€ et 150 tours gratuits. Une fois enregistré, vous gagnerez des points de fidélité sur chaque pari, échangeables dans la boutique des codes promo contre des paris gratuits ou des tours supplémentaires. Vous des cagnottes de 60 000€.
According to the online publication NewScientist, Uv Jorgensen, an astronomer from the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen (Denmark), came to this conclusion based on an analysis of the chemical composition of rocks and stony blocks left over from prehistoric times in Greenland.
Previously, it was widely believed that the Earth and the Moon, after their formation, were presumably bombed by asteroids about 4.5 billion years ago.
This period, dubbed the "late heavy bombardment," is recorded between 3.9 and 3.8 billion years ago.
In addition, comets brought to our planet the bulk of the water available here.
A Danish astronomer has calculated that almost all existing craters on the Moon belong to the above-mentioned period, when a total of about 100 million billion estimated tons of rock or ice crashed onto the lunar surface.
At the same time, the "waste" of that great bombardment fell to the Earth, although later tectonic transformations in the earth's surface erased the "scars" received during that turbulent time from the face of the planet.
To find out "who&Responsible for the massive bombardment of the Moon and Earth – asteroids or comets, Jorgensen used measurements of the presence of iridium metal in the chemical composition of prehistoric rock.
Iridium is usually found in both comets and asteroids.
Since comets develop enormous speeds exceeding the speed of asteroids, when they collide with any surface, they lift up giant plumes from explosions, as a result of which much more iridium escapes into space than during an asteroid attack.
Thus, scientists have calculated that when an asteroid hits the surface of the Moon or Earth, the number of iridium particles will range from 10,000 to 18,000 units per trillion in rocky rock, while for comets the same indicator will range from 10 to 130.
The analysis of rocks delivered from the Moon by American spacecraft as part of the Apollo missions also indicated the presence of iridium in the range of 10 or less particles per trillion.
An analysis of rocks dating back to 3.8 billion years ago found in Greenland, conducted with a high degree of accuracy by a Japanese laboratory, indicates the presence of iridium in them at the level of 150 particles per trillion.
Thus, scientists believe that it was comets, not asteroids, that relentlessly bombarded the Moon and Earth.
Thanks to such intense bombardment, according to Jorgensen's calculations, 3,400 tons of ice "remains" fell on every square meter of the earth's surface." comets.
About half of the volume of this material "ricocheted off&"back into space due to giant explosions, leaving a total of roughly 1 billion cubic kilometers of cometary water on Earth."".
This volume of liquid corresponds to the volume of moisture that the oceans currently have.
However, scientists note that it is not yet clear whether any water was present on Earth in the early phases of the planet's development, which could have happened due to chemical reactions. Le programme de fidélité et les promotions régulières complètent parfaitement ce bonus de bienvenue généreux pour les joueurs actifs. Pour activer cette offre de départ, n'oubliez pas d'utiliser le code promo 1xbet cote d'ivoire en remplissant le formulaire d'inscription. Ce code vous procure un bonus de bienvenue de 100% jusqu'à 130€ sur votre premier dépôt, mais aussi un pack casino de 1950€ et 150 tours gratuits. Une fois enregistré, vous gagnerez des points de fidélité sur chaque pari, échangeables dans la boutique des codes promo contre des paris gratuits ou des tours supplémentaires. Vous des cagnottes de 60 000€.