scientist have found evidence on Mars that put up the idea our Solar System went through a turbulent period . The findings , led by the Southwest Research Institute ( SwRI ) in Texas and the University of Arizona , were put out inNature .
The idea of our Solar System going through a later sullen bombardment ( LHB ) 4.1 to 3.8 billion years ago is a minute controversial . fundamentally , we opine that something get comets and asteroids in the outer Solar System to swing inwards , maybe a passing genius or planet , impact many of the planets and moons and possibly bring life and water to Earth .
We can see evidence for this on the Moon . sample pull in by the Apollo mission chance that most of the craters on the Moon originated from this full stop . Other consistency seem to have Crater of a like age .
In this late study , the scientist dated impact on Mars . In particular they looked at its orotund lavatory , Borealis , which is 10,000 kilometre ( 6,000 miles ) astray and covers most of the planet ’s northern hemisphere . By comparing it to the youngest great basins on Mars – Hellas , Isidis , Argyre , and Utopia ( which is now buried ) – they found that it was 4.5 billion years sure-enough , almost as old as Mars itself .
Borealis is top , Hellas is bottom right , and Argyre is bottom lead ( all in blue ) . SwRI
This then appears to have been followed by a lull for about 400 million year , which the investigator call the “ stagnation ” , before another period of bombardment from 4.1 to 3.8 billion years ago . The formation of these basins require two groups of asteroid to hit Mars , with the first being the result of the planets shape , and the second peradventure the LHB .
“ The new results unveil that Mars ’ wallop account closely parallels the bombardment histories we ’ve inferred for the Moon , the asteroid belt , and the satellite Mercury , ” lead author William Bottke from the SwRI said in astatement .
“ We refer to the period for the later impact as the ‘ Late Heavy Bombardment . ’ The young results add credence to this middling controversial theory . However , the quiet itself is an significant point in the phylogeny of Mars and other satellite . We like to refer to this lull as the ‘ doldrums . ’ ”
That wo n’t wholly put the debate over the LHB to rest . But it does provide a piece more grounds supporting the idea .
