LONDON: Information about the improbable evolutionary path that enabled Earth and not Venus to sustain life has been found, shows research.
Venus is the most similar planet to Earth in terms of size, mass, density, gravity and composition in our solar system.
While Earth has had a stable and habitable climate over geological time, Venus is in a climate catastrophe with a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere and very high surface temperatures.
According to researchers, Earth’s first crust, which was rich in radioactive heat-producing elements such as uranium and potassium, was torn from the planet and lost to space when asteroids bombarded the planet early in its history.
This phenomenon, known as impact erosion, helps explain a landmark discovery made over a decade ago about the Earth’s composition.
“The early loss of these two elements ultimately determined the evolution of Earth’s plate tectonics, magnetic field and climate,” said the team from University of British Columbia (UBC) and University of California-Santa Barbara.
“The events that define the early formation and bulk composition of Earth govern, in part, the subsequent tectonic, magnetic and climatic histories of our planet, all of which have to work together to create the Earth in which we live,” said Mark Jellinek, professor at UBC.
It is these events that potentially differentiate Earth from other planets.
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