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[EN VIDÉO] Planets of the solar system were born from disasters The Earth and the other planets orbiting the Sun were born in turmoil, randomly from successive collisions. This is what this episode of the Discovery Science Channel series Keys to the Universe describes.
Studying meteorites on Earth makes it possible A better understanding of the formation of our planet and its sisters Mercury, Venus and Mars. The real effects out of solar systemmeteorites help scientists determine the original composition particularly of rocky planets In particular the nature and The origin of volatile elements that enter into the formation of rocks and that contributed to the formation of ambiance.
Formation of rocky planets: nebula or chondrite?
Currently, the current hypothesis regarding the formation of rocky planets indicates that these volatile elements were pierced early in the solar nebula by young planets that were in the process of formation. At this point, the Earth but others rocky planets They were also just balls of rocks fusion. Volatile elements, such ashydrogenThe carbonI’OxygenI’nitrogen And a lot Gas Rare, absorbed, melts within a circumference the silhouette occupy its surface. Then, through volcanoes Then dense, these gases came to form the atmosphere. Then the young planets were subjected to a long and intense bombardment of meteorites called ” Chondrite »which in turn contributed to the contribution of volatile elements. The idea is also that it was the volatile elements from meteorites that contributed the most to at least the formation of the Earth’s atmosphere.
It follows from this hypothesis that the formation of the primordial solar nebula, or meteor nebula mixture, can be found primarily at the level of the deeper layers of the Earth. It is likely that the deeper parts of the mantle have preserved this chemical signature. That the most superficial layers, which have been subjected to billions of years of an intense process of melting and unloading. However, a new study has disrupted this line of reasoning.
A meteorite testifies to the internal formation of Mars
Meteorites that fall to Earth can come from many sources, including the surface of other rocky planets in the world. solar system. Strong influences that affected various planets at the very beginning of their lives already threw fragments of planets into space, which still regularly collide with neighboring planets. This is how bits of rocks from Mars have been found on Earth. However, one of these meteorites is of particular value to scientists, because it will not come from the surface, but from the interior of Mars, which is an extremely rare fact. It’s about meteor de Chassigny, discovered in France in 1815.
A team of researchers studied the composition of this meteorite and in particular the origin of its volatile elements. Usually, analysis of krypton’s isotopic ratios makes it possible to distinguish the solar or cartilaginous origin of the volatile elements. The results of the Chascini meteorite study are to say the least surprising.
In fact, isotopic analysis shows that the volatile elements it contains will not come from the assimilation of the components of the solar nebula as we thought, but rather from the integration of cartilaginous matter. This means that the chondrites would have been involved much earlier than we thought in the contribution of volatiles, i.e. the time the planet formed from the solar nebula.
The situation can be completely opposite, since the internal composition of the planet is associated with chondrites, and the composition of the atmosphere with the solar nebula.
The atmosphere of Mars could have formed very quickly
The article that just appeared in the review ScienceHowever, the Martian atmosphere cannot be formed solely through a gas discharge Coat, which then should have had a cartilaginous formation. It is possible that the planet gained its atmosphere very early on, by merging the elements of the solar nebula, before the magma ocean cooled. It should be noted that Mars froze very quickly, in only 4 million years, even if This time has been discussedUnlike Earth, which took between 50 and 100 million years to cool.
These new results indicate that Mars would have finished growing before the solar nebula dissipated under the influence of young radiation Sun.
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