PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Astron. Space Sci.
Sec. Planetary Science
Reassessing Late-Stage Impact Assumptions in Light of Modern Planet Formation Paradigms
Provisionally accepted
- Britecorp Ltd, Nairn, United Kingdom
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In this Perspective, we examine the implications of modern cold-accretion and disk-mediated paradigms for two widely cited impact hypotheses: the Moon-forming giant impact and the Late Heavy Bombardment, with attention to consequences for planetary thermal histories and early habitability. Rather than seeking to invalidate these hypotheses, we aim to assess the extent to which their underlying assumptions remain compatible with evolving formation paradigms. Particular attention is given to the consequences for planetary thermal histories, crustal stability, volatile retention, and early habitability. We further outline observational and theoretical constraints that may help distinguish between competing formation–impact scenarios as planetary science continues to develop.
Keywords: Accretion processes, Early Earth, giant impact hypothesis, Late heavy bombardment, Planet formation, planetary habitability, Protoplanetary disks, Solar system evolution
Received: 29 Dec 2025; Accepted: 06 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Turner. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Brian Turner
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