Astronomygeophysics News

"The Impact of the Late Heavy Bombardment on Earth's Surface"

Scientists at the 2023 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union discussed the effects of asteroid impacts on early Earth, revealing that the planet was heavily bombarded by large asteroids, leading to widespread melting of the surface and the formation of impact-generated spherule layers. Modeling suggests that nearly the entire surface of Earth would have been coated with impact melt during the first billion years of its history, with evidence of impacts dating back to 3.5 billion years ago found in Australia and South Africa.