Earth’s journey through the Milky Way might have helped create the planet’s first continents.
It’s an intriguing hypothesis, other scientists say, but it’s not the last word when it comes to explaining how Earth got its landmasses.
. These relics of Earth’s ancient continental crust are some of the planet’s oldest rocks. Using material from cratons in Australia and Greenland that are billions of years old, the team measured the chemistry of more than 2,000 bits of rock. The analysis let the researchers determine the exact ages of the rocks, and whether they had formed anew from molten material deep within the Earth or from earlier generations of existing crust.
That timing rang a bell: It’s also the frequency at which the Earth passes through the spiral arms of The idea makes sense, the researchers say, since the higher density of material in the spiral arms would have led to more gravitational tugs on the reservoir of comets at
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Astronomers just discovered a planet that might be able to support lifeScientists believe they may have discovered an inhabitable exoplanet just 100 light-years away from Earth.
Read more »
The brains of first-time fathers may shrink, reveals new studyNot to worry! The change actually makes the dads better at connecting with their children.
Read more »
How to stop cities and companies causing planetary harmResearchers must help to define science-based targets for water, nutrients, carbon emissions and more to avoid cascading effects and stave off tipping points in Earth’s systems.
Read more »
NASA’s unprecedented asteroid-deflection mission is more than ‘billiards in space,’ scientists sayNew simulations and lab experiments show the fate of NASA’s DARTMission depends heavily on a crucial question: Are such small asteroids solid boulders or—as astronomers increasingly believe—loose heaps of rubble?
Read more »
If Jupiter's Orbit got Weirder, it Would Actually Make Earth More HabitableJupiter has helped sustain life on Earth, but it might have done a better job with a more eccentric orbit.
Read more »
Fairbanks police seeking ‘person of interest’ in relation to shooting that sent man to hospitalPolice in Fairbanks are asking for help finding a man they described as a 'person of interest” in a shooting there on Monday that resulted in one man being sent to the hospital.
Read more »