Scientific theories agree that the formation of Moon and Earth It occurred thanks to the collision of a protoplanet against our world, 4.5 billion years ago. Remains of that rocky body, called Theiawould have been found by a team of researchers.
The renowned scientific magazine Nature highlights a report by Qian Yuan, a geophysicist from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech for its acronym in English), which shows that the remains of Theia are found at the top of the core of our planet, specifically in the region they call the mantle.
They don’t really have the remains in their hands. Based on scientific theories of the impact of planets and the formation of the Moon, they monitored the remains and the result showed that Theia rocks should be in the Earth’s mantle.
“It is a very exciting and provocative result. It would mean that we have material that can provide more information about Theia and help better understand the impact of Moon formation,” said Robin Canup of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, a scientist who was not part of the study.
Are there ways to corroborate material from Earth’s mantle directly? For now it is practically impossible. This area of the planet is about 33 kilometers into the depths, which is three times the height at which a commercial airplane flies, but towards the inside of the world.
So, the only method there is to investigate the remains of the mantle is the analysis of seismic waves and tectonic plates. Based on this type of research, experts find two spots that could be the remains of Theia, according to a review National Geographic.
Now a study published in Nature has associated the two masses of matter that are deeply buried on our planet, one under the African continent and the other under the Pacific Ocean, with this impact of Theia, the protoplanet that gave us the Moon. pic.twitter.com/QH1EHmxqhd
— Doctor Fisión (@doctorfision) November 8, 2023
However, the question remains if the remains of Theia merged with the Earth’s core, how would they determine what is our world and what is the protoplanet that impacted us in our formation stage?
If it were the case that the remains of Theia exist, scientists point out that they would be beneath South Africa and in the depths of the Pacific Ocean.
This is an exciting theory, as it suggests that there is still much to learn about the formation of the Earth and Moon. However, it is important to note that the research is still in its early stages. More work is needed to confirm that the masses in the mantle are indeed remains of Theia.