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Impact bombardment of the terrestrial planets and the early history of the Solar System

Nature Geoscience volume 6, pages 520–524 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

During the first billion years of Solar System evolution, following planetary accretion, the rate of impact cratering was substantially higher than over the past 3.5 Gyr. However, the causes, magnitude and evolution of the early impact flux remain unknown. In particular, uncertainty persists about whether the largest impact basins on the Moon and the other terrestrial planets formed from a cataclysmic bombardment in a narrow window of time about 3.9 Gyr ago, as initially suggested by the lunar sample collection, or over a more extended period. Recent observations relating to this so-called Late Heavy Bombardment imply that the window of bombardment was not as narrow and intense as originally envisaged. Nevertheless, numerical simulations suggest that the rocky bodies left behind after planetary accretion are insufficient in number to form the youngest large impact basins 4.0 to 3.7 Gyr ago. One viable hypothesis for the formation of these basins is the delivery of impactors to the inner Solar System following the migration of the giant planets, but this scenario also faces challenges. Clarifying the magnitude and length of the Late Heavy Bombardment has implications across the full range of planetary geosciences, from understanding the dynamical evolution of the Solar System to surface conditions on the terrestrial planets early in their history.

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Figure 1: Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter topography of six lunar basins.
Figure 2: Impact flux during the period of heavy bombardment on the Moon at various points in time, assuming different ages for Orientale (O), Imbrium (I) and Nectaris (N) and specific values for their superposed crater densities15.
Figure 3: Rectangles showing the range of impact flux required on the Moon at various points in time, assuming different ages and superposed crater densities for Orientale (O), Imbrium (I) and Nectaris (N) and various maria3,13.

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Acknowledgements

Reviews by W. K. Hartmann and A. Morbidelli improved the manuscript. We also acknowledge discussions with B. A. Cohen and J. W. Head III.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Astronomy, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, 01075, Massachusetts, USA

    Caleb I. Fassett

  2. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, 47907, Indiana, USA

    David A. Minton

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Correspondence to Caleb I. Fassett.

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Fassett, C., Minton, D. Impact bombardment of the terrestrial planets and the early history of the Solar System. Nature Geosci 6, 520–524 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1841

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