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Evidence for magma oceans on asteroids, the moon, and EarthThere are sound theoretical reasons to suspect that the terrestrial planets melted when they formed. For Earth, the reasons stem largely from the hypothesis that the moon formed as a result of the impact of a Mars-sized planetesimal with the still accreting Earth. Such a monumental event would have led to widespread heating of the Earth and the materials from which the moon was made. In addition, formation of a dense atmosphere on the Earth (and possibly the Moon) would have led to retention of accretional heat and, thus, widespread melting. In other words, contemporary theory suggests that the primitive Moon and terrestrial planets had magma oceans.
Document ID
19920019371
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Taylor, G. Jeffrey
(Hawaii Univ. Honolulu, HI, United States)
Norman, Marc D.
(Hawaii Univ. Honolulu, HI, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Inst., Workshop on the Physics and Chemistry of Magma Oceans from 1 Bar to 4 Mbar
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
92N28614
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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