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Article: The solar system's big bang: finding signs of a lost beginning.
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- February 14, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Gone. Vanished. Lost.
When it comes to the early history of the solar system, planetary scientists must contend with a case of nearly system-wide amnesia.
Although the solar system formed nearly 4.6 billion years ago, researchers have a pretty good record that goes back only 3.9 billion years. Yet those first 700 million years proved critical to all that followed. That's when the planets coalesced and water and other compounds essential to life were delivered to the inner planets.
What's more, according to a leading theory now being explored in detail, that early era was capped by a truly cataclysmic event. About 3.9 billion years ago, the ...