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Article: Earth's Bombardment by Asteroids 3.9 Billion Years Ago May Have Enhanced Early Life, Says University of Colorado Study.
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- Article date:
- May 20, 2009
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Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder
BOULDER, Colo., May 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- The bombardment of Earth nearly 4 billion years ago by asteroids as large as Kansas would not have had the firepower to extinguish potential early life on the planet and may even have given it a boost, says a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.
Impact evidence from lunar samples, meteorites and the pockmarked surfaces of the inner planets paints a picture of a violent environment in the solar system during the Hadean Eon 4.5 to 3.8 billion years ago, particularly through a cataclysmic event known as the Late Heavy Bombardment about 3.9 million years ago. ...