Mantle neon illuminates Earth’s formation- says a Study

New York: The Earth formed relatively quickly from a cloud of dust and gas around the sun, trapping water and gases in the planet’s mantle, according to a study. Besides determining Earth’s origins, the study led by a team from the University of California Davis could also help in identifying extrasolar systems that could support habitable planets. Drawing on data from the depths of the Earth to deep space, Professor Sujoy Mukhopadhyay and postdoctoral researcher Curtis Williams used neon isotopes to show how this planet formed.

Neon is actually a stand-in for where gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen came from, Williams said. Unlike these compounds that are essential for life, neon is an inert noble gas, and is not influenced by chemicals and biological processes. “Neon keeps a memory of where it came from even after four and a half billion years,” Mukhopadhyay said. (IANS)

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