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Wednesday 9 November 2016

The Universe in 101 words: Is your house on an impact site?



Yes, it is. 

How do I know?

Earth’s over four billion years old - plenty of time for huge asteroid strikes. But four and a half billion years ago Earth got hit, not by an asteroid… but by another planet. 

‘Bang’ doesn’t cover it: The explosion completely melted Earth, leaving it a huge flying blob of lava surrounded by a ring of molten debris. 

That's effectively day zero for Earth – anything older was obliterated. The debris ring became the Moon* – a very different Moon than it is today.

And you're standing on the aftermath, right now...

* Or possibly Moons.



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