Why is Earth so dry? Planet formed from rocky debris in hotter region, inside of solar system’s ‘snow line’

Posted by & filed under Geology.

A new analysis of the common accretion-disk model explaining how planets form in a debris disk around our Sun uncovered a possible reason for Earth's comparative dryness. The study found that our planet formed from rocky debris in a dry, hotter region, inside of the so-called "snow line." The snow line in our solar system currently lies in the middle of the asteroid belt, a reservoir of rubble between Mars and Jupiter; beyond this point, the Sun's light is too weak to melt the icy debris left over from the protoplanetary disk. Previous accretion-disk models suggested that the snow line was much closer to the Sun 4.5 billion years ago, when Earth formed.

Comments are closed.

Feedback

eSTEM Feedback

We appreciate any and all feedback about our site; praise, ideas, bug reports you name it!

e.g. Indifferent, Undecided, Unconcerned e.g.Kidding, Amused, Silly e.g. Happy, Confident, Grateful e.g. Sad, Dissapointed, Confused, Angry