Strange blobs in Earth’s mantle are relics of a massive collision
Impact with a body called Theia 4.5 billion years ago left remnants deep inside Earth — and also created the Moon
The protoplanet Theia, which was roughly the size of Mars, slammed into
proto-Earth 4.5 billion years ago (artist’s impression)
For decades, scientists have been baffled by two large, mysterious blobs in Earth’s mantle. These rock formations are thousands of kilometers long and slightly denser than their surroundings, hinting that they are made of different material than the rest of the mantle.
New computer modelling supports a dramatic origin story for these strange blobs: they are artefacts of a gargantuan collision 4.5 billion years ago between early Earth and another young planet — the same collision thought to have formed the Moon. The modelling suggests that this violent encounter caused material from the impacting world, called Theia, to embed itself in the lower half of Earth’s mantle. The collision also caused some of Theia’s remnants to be flung into orbit; these eventually coalesced into the Moon.
The idea that the mantle anomalies are remnants of Theia is not new, says Robin Canup, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. “But this paper is the first in my mind to really take that notion seriously,” she says.
A giant collision between the young Earth and a smaller protoplanet has long been the prevailing theory for the Moon’s formation. Such an origin would explain features such as the Moon’s lack of many volatile compounds, which would have been vaporized during the collision with Earth.
Computer simulation of the impact
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This is a very important bit to be acutely aware of. A NYT analysis (full article not paywalled) of what the ARR (authoritarian radical right) DJT is planning to do if he gets re-elected in 2024:
Close allies of Donald J. Trump are preparing to populate a new administration with a more aggressive breed of right-wing lawyer, dispensing with traditional conservatives who they believe stymied his agenda in his first term.
The allies have been drawing up lists of lawyers they view as ideologically and temperamentally suited to serve in a second Trump administration. Their aim is to reduce the chances that politically appointed lawyers would frustrate a more radical White House agenda — as they sometimes did when Mr. Trump was in office, by raising objections to his desires for certain harsher immigration policies or for greater personal control over the Justice Department, among others.
Now, as Trump allies grow more confident in an election victory next fall, several outside groups, staffed by former Trump officials who are expected to serve in senior roles if he wins, have begun parallel personnel efforts. At the start of Mr. Trump’s term, his administration relied on the influential Federalist Society, the conservative legal network whose members filled key executive branch legal roles and whose leader helped select his judicial nominations. But in a striking shift, Trump allies are building new recruiting pipelines separate from the Federalist Society.
These back-room discussions were described by seven people with knowledge of the planning, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. In addition, The New York Times interviewed former senior lawyers in the Trump administration and other allies who have remained close to the former president and are likely to serve in a second term.
The interviews reveal a significant break within the conservative movement. Top Trump allies have come to view their party’s legal elites — even leaders with seemingly impeccable conservative credentials — as out of step with their movement.
“The Federalist Society doesn’t know what time it is,” said Russell T. Vought, a former senior Trump administration official who runs a think tank with close ties to the former president. He argued that many elite conservative lawyers had proved to be too timid when, in his view, the survival of the nation is at stake.
In the past, DJT choose federal judge nominees from the ARR Federalist Society. The FS gave us all six of the ARR Republican politicians who now dominate the USSC. For the new and improved (more radical, enraged and virulent) DJT, those 6 FS guys are too wimpy. They don't even know what time it is.
This another warning about the incredibly high the stakes in the 2024 and elections thereafter. A ferocious kleptocratic dictatorship is brewing among ARR elites if they ever get the chance to impose it on all of us. We have been warned.
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In a rare moment of bipartisanship, the House has proudly lowered the bar for what it takes to stay in congress. It’s called the foggy mirror test. If you put a mirror under the congressperson’s nose and it fogs from breathing, then they are qualified to stay in power. The Hill writes:
A total of 31 Democrats joined 182 Republicans in voting to keep Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) in Congress on Wednesday, killing a Republican-led effort to oust the embattled lawmaker.
The lower chamber voted 213-179-19 against a resolution to expel Santos, marking the second unsuccessful attempt this year to eject the first-term lawmaker from the House. A two-thirds threshold is needed to expel a member of Congress.
A total of 31 Democrats and 182 Republicans voted against the resolution, while 24 Republicans and 155 Democrats voted to expel Santos.
Hm, maybe the House didn’t lower the bar, but instead dropped in on the ground. Or, maybe they just tossed the bar in the trash can. At the least, we can know that if a person in congress fails the foggy mirror test, they will be out of power. Probably.
Test passed or failed?
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