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The Late Heavy Bombardment

Bottke, William F., Norman, Marc D.·2017·Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences

DOI 10.1146/annurev-earth-063016-020131

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Abstract

Heavily cratered surfaces on the Moon, Mars, and Mercury show that the terrestrial planets were battered by an intense bombardment during their first billion years or more, but the timing, sources, and dynamical implications of these impacts are controversial. The Late Heavy Bombardment refers to impact events that occurred after stabilization of the planetary lithospheres such that they could be preserved as craters and basins. Lunar melt rocks and meteorite shock ages point toward a discrete episode of elevated impact flux between ∼3.5 and ∼4.0–4.2 Ga, and a relative quiescence between ∼4.0–4.2 and ∼4.4 Ga. Evidence from Precambrian impact spherule layers suggests that a long-lived tail of terrestrial impactors lasted to ∼2.0–2.5 Ga. Dynamical models that include populations residual from primary accretion and destabilized by giant planet migration can potentially account for the available observations, although all have pros and cons. The most parsimonious solution to match constraints is a hybrid model with discrete early, post-accretion and later, planetary instability–driven populations of impactors.

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Authors: Bottke, W. F., & Norman, M. D.
Affiliations: Southwest Research Institute (US)
Australian National University (AU)
ORCID: Bottke, William F.
Norman, Marc D.
Venue: Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Publisher: Annual Reviews
Published: 2017-08-30
Volume: 45
Issue: 1
Pages: 619-647
ISSN: 0084-6597 (ISSN-L)
1545-4495
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-earth-063016-020131
OpenAlex: W2519748279
Cited by: 271
References: 121
Citations by year: 2026: 14 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 8
FWCI: 1.98
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.annualreviews.org/licenses/tdm (tdm)
Locations: Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences (publishedVersion)
ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Space and Planetary Science › Astro and Planetary Science
Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Space and Planetary Science › Planetary Science and Exploration
Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › History and Developments in Astronomy
Keywords: Late Heavy Bombardment, impact history, impact craters, giant planet migration, impactor population, terrestrial planets, Moon, Mars, mercury, impact flux

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