Squabbling
Sibling planets may have hurled space rocks when they were young.
Simulations Suggest
That space rocks the size of baby planets struck both the newborn Earth and Venus
But
Many of the rocks that only grazed Earth went on to hit — and stick — to Venus.
That Difference
In early impacts could help explain why Earth and Venus are such different worlds today,
Planetary Scientist Shigeru Ida
“The pronounced differences between Earth and Venus, in spite of their similar orbits and masses, has been one of the biggest puzzles in our solar system,”
Scientists Have
Typically thought that there are two ways that collisions between baby planets can go.
The Objects
Could graze each other and each continue on its way, in a hit-and-run collision.
Or
Two protoplanets could stick together, or accrete, making one larger planet.