Scientists talked about the role of the Moon in the origin of life on Earth

Researchers at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute have found that an ocean of magma on the surface of the early Earth could have existed much longer than previously thought, and it was this period that could create the conditions for the subsequent origin of life. This was reported on the news portal on June 1. Phys.org .

According to the authors' calculations, the red-hot surface of the Earth did not cool down for so long due to two competing factors. The first was the tidal forces of the new Moon, which was much closer to Earth than it is today, and literally "kneaded" the bowels of the planet, generating enormous internal heat. The second is the greenhouse effect of the primary atmosphere: magma itself released gases, creating a dense thermal "cocoon" around the planet. To simulate these dynamics, the scientists used the PROTEUS evolutionary planetary platform.

The key parameter turned out to be oxygen fugacity, the degree of oxidation of the mantle. Under oxidizing conditions, water was retained until the late stages of magma crystallization, after which it was released as steam and dramatically enhanced the greenhouse effect.

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As a result, the ratio of methane to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was about 0.1, a value critically important for the photochemical synthesis of hydrogen cyanide. It is this substance, which is deadly to modern life forms, that astrobiologists consider to be the key precursor of RNA and proteins— the building blocks of the first living organisms.

The planetary magma ocean has long been perceived as a hostile environment for the emergence of life. However, the new model reverses this logic: according to the authors' conclusions, it was the prolonged molten phase of the Earth that gave enough time for the accumulation of prebiotic molecules, which later launched biological evolution.

The Magazine Phys.org On May 21, he reported the discovery of the exoplanet TOI-199b, whose atmosphere is rich in methane. Astronomers have studied the space object and found out that it is a gas giant, the size of which is comparable to Saturn, and the temperature is similar to Earth.