Four Billion BCE: Battered Earth
Explanation:
No place on Earth was safe.
Four billion years ago, during the
Hadean eon,
our Solar System was a dangerous shooting gallery of large and dangerous rocks and
ice chunks.
Recent examination of lunar and Earth bombardment data indicate that the entire
surface of the Earth underwent piecemeal upheavals, hiding our globe's
ancient geologic history, and creating a battered world with no remaining familiar
land masses.
The rain of devastation made it difficult for any life to survive, although
bacteria that could endure high temperatures had the
best chance.
Oceans thought to have formed during this epoch would boil away after particularly
heavy impacts, only to reform again.
The
above
artist's illustration depicts how Earth might have looked during this epoch,
with
circular impact features
dotting the daylight side, and
hot lava flows visible in the night.
One billion years later, in a calmer Solar System, Earth's first
supercontinent formed.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
