Understanding where the main chemical elements on Earth came from and the question of why some of them were very few, for a long time puzzled scientists. Now a new study published in the journal Science Advances reveals this secret, writes Phys.

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The results of the study challenging existing theories about why there are few moderately volatile elements on Earth and Mars (MVE). Moderately volatile elements, such as copper and zinc, play an important role in the chemistry of the planets and are often companions of such important compounds and chemical elements as water, carbon and nitrogen. Understanding their origin gives tips about why our planet has become a inhabited world.

On Earth and Mars are much smaller than MVE than in the most ancient meteorites, known as chondrites. It is believed that they formed in the protoplanetary disk surrounding the Sun more than 4.5 billion years ago, from which the planets of the solar system also appeared.

Scientists have analyzed iron meteorites, which are the remains of the iron nuclei of the very first building blocks of planets or planetesimals. As a result, scientists discovered that planetosima in the inside of the solar system surprisingly had a lot of MVE. Thus, the new discovery changes the idea of \u200b\u200bhow the planets received their chemical elements, scientists say.

Previously, scientists believed that most of the MVE disappeared because these elements have never completely condensed in the early solar system. But the authors of the study came to the conclusion that many of the first planetesimali retained their MVE, and the construction blocks of the Earth and Mars lost their elements later, when they came across each other, which led to the formation of the planets.

Scientists also found that many planetosimalized in the inside of the solar system retained the same amount of MVE as the chondrites. This suggests that the construction blocks of the Earth and Mars were originally more than MVE, and a significant part of them was lost during the long history of the formation of the planets.

As Focus already wrote, the physicist of the ocean on Enzelad is jealous of the discovery of aliens on the satellite of Saturn. The study suggests that it will be difficult for spacecraft to detect signs of life in the underground ocean of the ice world.

Focus also wrote that the astronomers found the largest structure in the local universe, consisting of clusters of galaxies. The total length of this structure is 1.3 billion light years, and a mass of 200 quadrillion times more than that of the sun.