Without this cosmic accident, life on Earth might never have existed

As you know, oceans cover 70% of the Earth's surface, but the origin of water remains unknown. However, a new study conducted by two researchers at the University of Bern provides a new answer to this question.

The Earth is 4,5 billion years old, and at its formation it was a hostile world, where the temperatures were very high and where the volcanic activity was intense. In other words, our Earth looked more like Mercury or Venus than a blue planet.

But if nothing allowed life to develop there, a major event took place a few million years after its formation. Indeed, researchers Pascal Kruttasch and Klaus Mezger conducted a study and concluded that the Proto-Earth formed fairly quickly, in just 3 million years. But a sudden change occurred around 4,561 billion years ago.  

It must be said that the composition of the Earth changed dramatically at that moment, and this corresponds with the impact caused by Theia. As a reminder, this is a hypothetical planet the size of Mars, which would have collided with Earth. 

Thus, if this event would have allowed the Moon to form, it would also have caused the appearance of water on our planet. And to emphasize their statements, the researchers believe that Theia had formed far from the Sun and was frozen. 

However, this is only a hypothesis, and it is necessary to remain cautious. Indeed, many mysteries still surround the appearance of water on our planet. And scientists searching for extraterrestrial life on exoplanets could give another hypothesis.