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Earth and Mars May Have Formed in Weirdly Different Ways
The New York Times • • science
Key Points:
- New research published in Nature Astronomy reveals that Earth and Mars formed through distinctly different processes despite their similar ages and ingredients.
- Mars primarily assembled from large, asteroid-sized bodies, while Earth grew from a swarm of smaller, self-assembling pebbles.
- This finding supports the theory that Earth's water supply may have originated from icy pebbles delivered from the outer solar system, complementing previous ideas involving comets and asteroids.
- The study utilized chemical clues from planetary rocks and advanced computer simulations to recreate the formation histories of both planets.
- Researchers expressed surprise at the stark contrast in formation mechanisms between two neighboring planets in the solar system.
