Astronomy Space the Solar System
Heavy Bombardment
- Period of time in the early solar system
- First few hundred million years
- ~4.1 - 3.8 billion years ago
- Disproportionately large numbers of asteroids were colliding with early terrestrial planet
- Evidence derives from lunar samples brought back by the Apollo missions
- Showed most impacts happened in a narrow interval of time
- Tons of things colliding
- Mixing of elements
- Possible formation of the Moon
- Most of Earth's water probably accumulated during this time
- Most planets probably captured moons at this time