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A research study published in R&D magazine stated that meteorites could have played a more minor role in formation of the planets. Moreover, they are more likely a byproduct rather than a seed of life.
A general scietific opinion about the formation of Earth and other rocky planets from our solar system stated that chondrules were the first ingredient. Scientists thought that the first or at least one of the first ingredients in the formation of a planet was the group of meteors that plunged and smashed its surface. Furthermore, the process of our planet’s creation was shaped by these interactions and a great amount of matter was brought in by these celestial bodies.
Researchers from Purdue University and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) studied chondrules. These are spherical grains located on meteorites. The scientists long believed that they contained biological and chemical building blocks which sown life on Earth.
Computer simulations were used by scientists and researchers to study chondrules and their formation. They established that celestial bodies with large mass and volume (very similar to natural satellites, planets, meteorites etc.) were here before the chondrules appeared. The chondrules’ creation was the probable result from collision of planets not bigger than our moon or other natural satellites. The immense force of the impact caused the material on the planets to melt. Because the impact was so violent, rock would have liquefied and would have been blasted out into space.
Chondrules may be residual droplets of the material and molten rock that cooled. They didn’t float in space on their own. Instead, they connected to larger bodies made of rock. Some of them, meteorites, entered in a collision course with Earth.
A top researcher at MIT, Brandon Johnson stated that the result of the computer simulation depicts an image totally opposite from the generally accepted scientific opinion. Although it was just a theory, chondrules were believed that brought material, chemical and also biological building blocks of life. The things are the other way around, according to the results.
“Protoplanets” were early celestial bodies with dimension close to an asteroid. They could have been similar to the size of moon in the other cases. The scientists simulated random collisions between these bodies and they found an astonishing fact. A planet that can have resembling characteristics to our moon can form in about 10,000 years. Chondrules appear later, in a lengthier process. A different type of simulation was made by the scientists. They wanted to find out when the result of a collision can result in molten material. They discovered that the protoplanets should have a speed of at least 9.000 kilometers per hour.
Image Source: Tech Times
