Part 6/7:
Lead researcher Patrick Franco, an astrophysicist from Brazil, posits that such collisions may be more common than previously thought. He advocates that these significant impacts likely play a pivotal role in shaping the final structure of rocky planets within our solar system.
The researchers utilized advanced simulations to replicate Mercury's internal structure and chemical composition. Their work took into account the specifics of the collision's angle and timing, suggesting it occurred in the region between Venus and Earth’s orbits before Mercury migrated inward toward the Sun.