Mass Extinctions by Gravitational Tides
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Past and recent observations suggest that many planetary-mass or dwarf-planet objects may exist in the outer Solar System, between the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud. Gravitational perturbations may occasionally bring some of them into the inner Solar System. The early, rare collision between the proto-Earth and the Mars-sized body Theia is generally invoked to explain the formation of the Moon. The same event probably tilted Earth’s spin axis with respect to the planetary orbital plane, giving rise to the present seasons. Much more probable than a direct impact, however, are grazing or near-Earth flybys of similar or smaller objects. Such passages may have left strong tidal signatures: giant waves, large volcanic episodes, sea regressions, coherent meteor showers, and major climatic perturbations. These mechanisms could have contributed to several major biological mass extinctions over the past 600 My, as suggested by peculiar correlations in the geological record. Similar events may have occurred several times during the earlier history of Earth. Accretion of mini-planets by the Sun may also have occurred more, possibly hundred or thousand times over the last four billion years. Possibly producing additional temperature variations and climatic consequences on Earth.
DOI: 10.22323/1.506.0009
Author: Daniele Fargion
Topic: Astro and Planetary Science
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W7165014945
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