Although Earth and Mars developed side-by-side, their formation may have occurred as a result of a combination of different planetary formation processes.
elchi reports that Earth and Mars formed very close to each other about 4.5 billion years ago; nevertheless, new studies show that the growth of these two planets occurred through completely different processes.
Professor Anders Johansen, who studies planetary formation at the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen, said: “The most surprising result is that Earth and Mars are found to have formed in different ways. You would expect two planets forming side-by-side in the same solar system to have a more similar origin story.”
Johansen led this new study together with Associate Professor Haiyanq Wang.
Two different paths leading to planetary formation
Rocky planets can grow through the collision of large bodies called “planetesimals”, the accumulation of smaller particles (a process called “gravel accretion”), or a combination of both.
This new study confirms this complex picture, while also revealing that Earth and Mars were exposed to these processes in very different proportions.
Haiyanq Wang stated: “It appears that at least 75 percent of Earth’s mass was formed from two young planets (protoplanets) that grew by accreting gravel, with planetesimals accounting for up to 25 percent of the mass. In contrast, about three-quarters of Mars’ mass was formed from planetesimals, with the remaining quarter coming from gravel accretion.”
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Study: Earth and Mars formed fundamentally differently
