Solar system's divided inner and outer regions decided planet composition: MIT study

In a new revelation, astronomers have now claimed that our solar system was divided into the inner and outer regions way before its formation 4.5 billion years ago. A report by Daily Mail suggested that the study was conducted by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who claimed the existence of the 'cosmic boundary' when the solar system was in its dormant stage. However, the reason for this possible gap between the two regions remains to be determined.

Yesterday's division is today's asteroid belt

Published in the journal Science Advances, the study stated that the gap which we are aware of today grew to form the asteroid belt, the region between Mars and Jupiter which separates the first four planets from the last four. The experts reportedly determined these results by analysing ancient meteorites that once fell from outer space on Earth.

Currently, the planet Mars is separated from Jupiter by a distance of 550 million kilometres, but the study suggests that this distance might have been smaller in the past although they were unable to determine the exact size of the 'cosmic boundary'. In the early stages, our solar system was merely a swirling mass of gas and dust, that later birthed planets and the sun.

Why does it matter?

Talking about the study results, lead author Cauê Borlina revealed that this separation of the two regions might have been responsible for the composition of the solar system's planets, as per Daily Mail. He explained that the gas and dust in the inner region birthed terrestrial planets like Earth and Mars while the dust and gas in the outer regions produced gaseous giants such as Jupiter and Saturn and icier planets like Uranus and Neptune. 

He further stated that crossing from one region to another requires a lot of external torque and momentum which explains that the formation of planets was restricted to a certain point in the solar system. Although the reason for this finding is unknown, experts think that Jupiter and its strong gravitation might have had an influence in leaving behind a gap. Another explanation, as per the scientists, could be about the winds emerging from planets having a strong magnetic field. It is believed that when the magnetic fields interact with a rotating disk of gas and dust, they can produce powerful winds that blow the materials out and leave behind a gap.

Image: Twitter/@Ruag_Space