Billions of years ago, the Earth was completely different from what it is today. First of all, it is worth saying that at that time there was a catastrophic lack of oxygen on the planet. At the same time, there was plenty of water, and at that time the first forms of life had already begun to appear on Earth. At first, they developed calmly, but then everything changed: a giant asteroid the size of Mount Everest collided with our planet.. One might think that after such an impact the first life on Earth would have been destroyed. But the results of geological research indicate that after this catastrophe life, on the contrary, began to flourish.
Once upon a time, an asteroid crashed into Earth that literally turned everything upside down. Image source: New York Post
What Earth Was Like Billions of Years Ago
According to Study Country, 3.26 billion years ago, our native Earth was unrecognizable.
The atmosphere we consider familiar today was then a dangerous mixture of gases. There was practically no oxygen in the air, but it was saturated with carbon dioxide, methane and other substances that would make life on the planet impossible for most modern creatures, and especially for humans. Oxygen was just beginning to appear in small quantities, and breathing in such an atmosphere would have been very difficult.
Billions of years ago, Earth was a water world. Image source: reddit.com
Almost the entire surface of the Earth was covered by oceans, which were significantly warmer than they are now. They were also highly acidic. This was due to the high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The continents were just beginning to form, but were still small and began to noticeably increase in size only after many millennia. Volcanoes, of which there were more then than now, erupted lava and gases, exerting a significant influence on the landscape and climate.
Once upon a time, there were many more volcanoes on Earth than there are now. Image source: kosmo-museum.ru
Life existed on Earth, but only in the form of microscopic single-celled organisms — bacteria and archaea. These creatures, invisible to the naked eye, were able to survive in extreme conditions where there was no oxygen and the temperature was higher than we are used to. Life mainly flourished in the oceans, which were the ideal environment for these simple organisms.
Read also:How often do asteroids fall to Earth — should we be afraid of them?
The largest asteroid to fall to Earth
About 3.26 billion years ago, a giant object known as asteroid S2 fell to Earth. Its dimensions were truly colossal — 40 to 60 kilometers in diameter, which is 200 times the mass of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. The height of Mount Everest, for your information, is 8.85 kilometers (it gradually increases).
The impact was so powerful that scientists are still finding traces of it today. The impact was first reported in 2014, when a team of geologists discovered evidence of the impact in South Africa.
In general, many asteroids hit Earth in ancient times. Image source: iflscience.com
Geologists collected samples of rocks that formed before and after the collision. This data helped reconstruct the chronology of events and understand what happened to the Earth at the moment of impact. The study showed that the energy of the impact was so enormous that the upper layer of the ocean literally boiled, evaporating huge amounts of water and releasing gigantic amounts of heat into the atmosphere.
One of the most devastating consequences was a giant tsunami. The huge wave kicked up sediment from the ocean floor and swept away everything in its path. Scientists compare it to standing on the shore in calm water and suddenly a giant wave rips off the bottom and carries everything in front of it. When the wave receded, it left behind devastated areas of land covered in tons of sediment.
A large asteroid can cause a devastating tsunami even today. Photo source: travelask.ru
Despite all this chaos, the S2 asteroid strike did not end life on Earth. On the contrary, thanks to this event, microscopic organisms that fed on iron and phosphorus received a new source of food. The tsunami stirred up iron from the ocean floor and from the surface of the earth, which allowed these organisms to thrive.
Ultimately, it turns out that although asteroid impacts are often perceived as catastrophes, in the early history of the Earth such events could stimulate evolution and help life develop.
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But in today's world, an asteroid collision could cause the death of millions of people and animals. In 2029, the large asteroid Apophis will approach the Earth, and this is alarming.