Surabaya –
The earth is still shrouded in a mystery that scientists have not been able to solve from a scientific point of view. Here are 5 unsolved earth mysteries cited by detikInet from Reader’s Digest:
1. The origin of water
Water is everywhere, it covers 70% of the earth’s surface and has earned it the nickname of the Blue Planet. But where did it come from? How can it be so abundant on our planet when there is almost no water in the entire solar system?
Most scientists believe that when Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago, it was a dry, rocky planet. The most popular scientific theory is that the water arrived in the form of several giant ice-filled asteroids. Another theory claims that water has actually existed since the formation of the Earth.
2. The mystery of oxygen
Another very important thing for living things on Earth is oxygen. According to science, about 2.4 billion years ago, microscopic creatures called cyanobacteria released oxygen as a waste product, filling the atmosphere with it. Subsequently, oxygen levels in the atmosphere fluctuated wildly until finally leveling off about 540 million years ago.
But what made him suddenly stabilize? This remains one of the greatest scientific mysteries for which there is no definitive answer.
3. Cambrian Letusan
The Cambrian eruption refers to a complex explosion of life that occurred about 540 million years ago. Previously, life consisted mostly of bacteria, eukaryotes, and ultra-simple plants. At the beginning of the Cambrian Period, evolution seemed to go through a growth spurt and complex creatures began to evolve at rates never seen before.
Suddenly, life had a brain, eyes and a skeleton. Most things living today can trace their ancestry back to the Cambrian period. Some scientists believe that the Cambrian eruption occurred due to the oxygen mentioned above, stabilizing at the same time. However, there are still doubts about this theory.
4. What is in the Earth’s core?
While it may appear that humans have successfully explored the Earth, we are only on the surface. There is much more to Earth than just its surface. However, exploration is very difficult. The reason, of course, is because the conditions beneath the earth’s surface are simply inhospitable.
Scientists know that the layer beneath the crust, or mantle, is composed mostly of solid silicate rock. But the core of our planet remains a mystery. For years, scientists have believed that iron and nickel make up the innermost layers of the Earth. But it is still not fully believed.
5. How was the Moon formed?
Scientists aren’t sure how the Moon formed. Many believe that the moon appeared due to a collision between the newly formed Earth and a slightly smaller protoplanet. However, samples from the Apollo missions show that the chemical composition of the Moon is very similar to that of the Earth.
This suggests that the Moon may not be a separate body, but was formed from pieces of the Earth itself. The third theory, which assumes that the Moon is a separate body pulled into Earth’s orbit, provides the best explanation for why only one side of the Moon faces us.
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