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A Collision With Another Planet Could Have Allowed for Life on Earth
Analysis by researchers at the University of Bern suggests that water and other volatile compounds arrived on Earth from outer space—specifically via a collision with a Mars-sized planet billions of years ago.
Recent research adds another layer of relevance to that hypothesized cosmic event: Scientists believe that without that other body, the basic conditions for life to emerge on Earth might never have appeared. A team from the University of Bern in Switzerland argues that, due to its proximity to the sun, the proto-Earth that existed before this potential collision lost the volatile elements essential to form complex molecules. It can therefore be assumed that it was only the collision with Theia that brought volatile elements to Earth and ultimately made life possible there,” Pascal Kruttasch, first author of the report, said in a University of Bern press release.
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