‭-‬ ‭ here the Earth sits in the outer regions of the Milky Way, there was a large cloud

e cloud of gas and‬

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‭dust… How did the Earth form from this?‬
-‭ ‬ ‭Beginning‬
‭-‬ ‭Big cloud of gas and dust (particles of grains of sand, grains of silicone, dirty stuff) -‬‭Known as‬
‭molecular clouds‬
‭-‬ ‭These clouds cover hundreds of light years‬
‭-‬ ‭Made up from debris of dead stars‬
‭-‬ ‭The heavier elements such as iron, nickel, silicone, are blown out far into galaxy -‬
‭creating a molecular cloud‬
-‭ ‬ ‭Sun formation‬
‭-‬ ‭Gravity is the main force driving the formation - draws particles of the molecular cloud together‬
‭-‬ ‭Over 10 million years the cloud slowly contracts due to gravity - collapsing‬
‭-‬ ‭This spinning caused the centre of the cloud to heat up, transforming a spinning ball into the‬‭Sun‬
‭-‬ ‭How particles come together‬
‭-‬ ‭The leftover material spun into a disk of dust and gas (these materials form planets/objects later‬
‭on)‬
‭-‬ ‭MARCH 2003 -‬‭Dr Don Pettit‬‭and‬‭Dr Stanley Love‬‭- Particles‬‭stick together because of electrons‬
‭transferring in zero gravity and the objects receive an electrostatic charge -‬‭This moment‬
‭occurred 4.5 bya‬

‭-‬ ‭Earth formation‬

T‭ hese clumps grow into objects approx. 0.5miles in diameter - mass is great‬
‭enough for gravitational pull to attract surrounding objects‬ ‭ rocess takes‬
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‭approx. 3‬
‭Clumps grow into 20 planets‬ ‭million years‬

‭ 0 planets began to collide and with each collision two planets combined,‬
2 ‭ pprox. 30‬
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‭reducing the Solar System to a few planets (‬‭including‬‭Earth‬‭)‬ ‭million yrs‬

‭ N EARTH: Temp approx. 4700 C (5x more than cremation furnace)‬

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‭Humans would instantly disappear/evaporate‬

‭ n extremely intense storm of charged, deadly particles from the sun‬

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‭approaches Earth as it is just beginning to cool‬
‭●‬ ‭This is known as solar wind travelling at up to 1 mil miles/hour‬
‭●‬ ‭Wind contains radiation that can cause lethal damage to cells‬
‭●‬ ‭Can have devastating affect on Earth‬
‭●‬ ‭Surrounded by atmosphere protecting from extreme temperatures of‬
‭outer space‬
‭○‬ ‭Wind can blow away this atmosphere - e.g Mars and‬
‭would’ve happened to Earth‬
‭●‬ ‭Why didn’t it affect Earth??‬
 ‭‬ C
○ ‭ ollisions produced intense heat that melted rock‬
‭○‬ ‭Lightest elements rose and heavier elements sunk forming a‬
‭molten iron core‬‭which protected from the Sun’s heat‬
‭ ‬ ‭How does the core protect from the Sun?‬
●
‭○‬ ‭Spinning motion of the core creates a‬‭magnetic field‬
‭surrounding Earth‬
‭○‬ ‭Magnetic field is caused by currents in the liquid iron‬
‭○‬ ‭Imagine the core as a coil - the magnetic field passes through‬
‭the core and loops around Earth on either side creating a‬
‭North and South pole - Extends far out into space‬‭known as‬
‭the magnetosphere‬
‭○‬ ‭When the particles come close to the magnetosphere they‬
‭are bounced back and particles that get through are‬
‭deflected to poles (magnetism) - When these particles enter‬
‭the atmosphere they react with the molecules in the air to‬
‭create the Northern Lights.‬

‭ N EARTH - Temp approx. 1000 C, Magnetosphere present, However no‬

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‭oxygen or water. Humans would die within minutes.‬

E‭ arth is now on a collision course with another planet -‬

‭A collision so huge it will melt the whole planet (due to heat created from the‬
‭impact) -‬‭We know about this from the existence of‬‭the moon‬

‭ ieces brought back to Earth from the moon revealed that the rocks had no‬
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‭moisture in them as if they had been heated - A theory of its creation needed‬
‭to explain this‬

‭ rofessor Robin Canup‬‭runs a simulation of Earth colliding with another‬

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‭relatively large clump‬
‭●‬ ‭Spreads out material from the impactor into a long arm‬
‭●‬ ‭A clump from this arm re-impacts with the Earth and spreads‬
‭material out again‬
‭●‬ ‭Some time passes and an external clump of materials comes close to‬
‭Earth - the gravity of Earth breaks the impactor material into tiny‬
‭particles spread out into a long arm‬
‭●‬ ‭This arm turns into a disc of material that orbits the Earth‬
‭●‬ ‭A clump forms from this disc of the material and when the clump is‬
‭large enough it attracts the remaining debris‬
 ‭●‬ T‭ he amount of heat energy generated is enough to completely melt‬
‭the whole Earth and even vaporise some rocks‬

‭ s a result, thousands of years later the ground is still completely molten and‬
A ‭ 0 million‬
5
‭the moon is 15x closer than currently‬ ‭years since‬
‭The moon gave us tides, depending on how close the moon is, the waves will‬ ‭Earth began‬
‭to form‬
‭be stronger or weaker‬

I‭ t is possible that the collision tilted the Earth on its axis, giving us the‬
‭seasons‬
‭●‬ ‭Provides the annual cycle of life through seasons‬

‭Where did our water come from?‬

‭●‬ ‭When the Solar System was forming it was too hot for liquid water to‬
‭ steroid belt:‬
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‭exist - The region from the Sun to Asteroid Belt was extremely dry‬ ‭is between‬
‭●‬ ‭Nearest water 160 million miles away located in the‬‭outer Asteroid‬ ‭Jupiter and‬
‭Belt‬ ‭Mars‬
‭●‬ ‭It is obvious that the moon has been hit by hundreds of objects from‬
‭its craters, however Earth’s ever changing surface has erased any‬
‭similar traces‬
‭●‬ ‭JANUARY 2005 - Scientists felt certain that comets contain water in‬
‭the form of ice‬
‭○‬ ‭Analysis of debris confirmed that comets contained‬
‭significant amounts of water‬
‭●‬ ‭Does the water on comets match the water on Earth?‬
‭○‬ ‭Only 3 comets have been analysed so far‬
‭○‬ ‭The water in all these comets does not match the water on‬
‭ sing‬‭radio‬
U
‭Earth‬ ‭telescopes‬‭to‬
‭○‬ ‭JANUARY 18TH 2000 - Meteorite enters atmosphere with the‬ ‭study the type‬
‭best preserved evidence discovered and undamaged‬ ‭of water of‬
‭■‬ ‭It was made of clay minerals containing water‬ ‭vapour trails‬
‭molecules - 20% is water‬ ‭in the comets‬
‭■‬ ‭Astronomers traced the orbit of the object back into‬
‭space, coming from the outer regions of the Asteroid‬
‭Belt‬
‭●‬ ‭Because of this discovery, it was theorised that water was brought to‬
‭Earth from space‬‭through a torrential shower of asteroids‬
‭containing water‬
‭●‬ ‭These asteroids broke out of their orbit and headed to Earth thanks‬
‭to‬‭Jupiter‬‭, who’s‬‭gravity‬‭is strong enough to‬‭disrupt‬‭the path‬‭of any‬
 ‭ ear object - It pulled objects from their normal orbits into‬‭elliptical‬
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‭orbits‬‭that‬‭crossed the path of Earth‬
‭●‬ ‭The asteroids erupted into water as they crashed into Earth - slowly‬
‭creating the oceans‬
‭ ‬ ‭Evidence of the time this process took‬
● ‭ ecent‬
R
‭○‬ ‭Dr Stephen Mojzsis‬‭took some of the oldest rocks in‬‭the‬ ‭evidence‬
‭world and ground them down, extracting tiny crystals,‬ ‭shows this‬
‭zircons (they are generally hard to destroy)‬ ‭process‬
‭○‬ ‭Using iron microprobe, the zircons were analysed the‬ ‭occurred‬
‭composition of oxygen was measured‬ ‭relatively‬
‭quickly (less‬
‭○‬ ‭The crystals formed from a specific type of rock that could‬
‭than 150‬
‭only have existed with water‬ ‭million years)‬

‭ N EARTH: Temperature is less than 100 C, there is water to sustain life, no‬
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‭oxygen (gases are nitrogen, carbon dioxide and methane). Humans would not‬
‭survive.‬
‭●‬ ‭Sea is full of iron from hydrothermal vents (would have appeared‬
‭green)‬
‭●‬ ‭Atmosphere is a lot thicker (reddish tinge to the sky)‬

‭So how did the Earth acquire its oxygen?‬

‭●‬ ‭Geologist Martin Van Kranendonk‬
‭●‬ ‭Shark Bay on the West Coast of Australia‬
‭●‬ ‭One of only TWO places in the world where stromatolites exist‬
‭●‬ ‭Growing since the end of the last ice age (10 000 years ago)‬ S‭ cientific‬
‭●‬ ‭The living part of a stromatolite is made up of “blue green” bacteria‬ ‭term:‬
‭that grows through photosynthesis -‬‭therefore they‬‭produce oxygen‬ ‭Cyanobacteria‬
‭Bacteria‬
I‭t is believed that Earth as we know it today is because these stromatolites‬ ‭appeared only‬
‭have allowed oxygen to be released into the atmosphere‬ ‭1 billion years‬
‭after the‬
‭●‬ ‭This is believed due to a discovery in a remote region of Northern‬
‭formation of‬
‭Australia, Pilbara‬ ‭Earth‬
‭●‬ ‭Ancestors of the stromatolites in Shark Bay are preserved here as‬
‭fossils (they are 15x older than the dinosaurs) - Oldest evidence for‬
‭life on Earth‬
‭●‬ ‭For the 1st billion years of existence of the stromatolites, the oxygen‬
‭levels barely changed‬ ‭2.5 bya‬
‭○‬ ‭Abandoned iron formations - formed 2.5 bya‬
‭■‬ ‭Stromatolites reacted with iron in water - absorbing‬
‭all the oxygen that was produced and created rust‬
 ‭■‬ T‭ his rust fell to the bottom of the ocean and created‬
‭these formations‬
‭ ‬ ‭When all the iron was used up the oxygen began to fill up the‬ ‭Took 2 by‬
○
‭atmosphere‬

‭500 million years ago it reached a level at which life could form‬

‭ lossary terms‬
G
‭molecular clouds‬‭- Made up of tiny dust and gas particles‬‭from the debris of a dead star‬
‭electrostatic charge‬‭- A momentary flow of electric‬‭charge current between two electrically charged‬
‭objects (caused by contact)‬
‭solar wind‬‭- A strong wind of charged particles from‬‭the Sun‬
‭magnetosphere‬‭- The region surrounding Earth (or another‬‭astronomical body) that is a magnetic field‬
‭and can extend through space‬
‭magnetic field‬‭- The area surrounding the main ‘magnet’‬‭that attracts and pulls‬
‭radio telescopes‬‭- Used to detect radio waves from‬‭space - these are used to enhance our understanding‬
‭of the universe‬
‭meteorite‬‭- A piece of rock that has fallen from outer‬‭space, to Earth‬
‭zircons‬‭- A mineral‬
‭stromatolites‬‭-‬
‭blue green bacteria‬‭-‬