One crucial reason that life on Earth exists - Elise Cutts episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 5, 2026 · 7 MIN

One crucial reason that life on Earth exists - Elise Cutts

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Explore the Big Whack theory, and how the event could have created the Moon and given Earth its all-important axial tilt.--4.5 billion years ago, Earth was struck by a rock the size of Mars flying 9 kilometers a second. The force of this collision temporarily turned Earth’s surface into an ocean of molten magma. Today, some scientists call this cosmic crash the Big Whack, and we’re still dealing with the impacts of this impact. Elise Cutts explores the pivotal role Earth’s obliquity plays in our planet's processes.Lesson by Elise Cutts, directed by Igor Ćorić, Artrake Studio.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-earths-tilt-so-important-elise-cuttsDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-earths-tilt-so-important-elise-cutts/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.artrake.comMusic: https://www.workplaywork.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique Cassús, Karthik Cherala, Clarence E. Harper Jr., Vignan Velivela, Ana Maria, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Martin Stephen, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Mandeep Singh, Abhijit Kiran Valluri, Morgan Williams, Devin Harris, Pavel Zalevskiy, Karen Goepen-Wee, Filip Dabrowski, Barbara Smalley, Megan Douglas, Tim Leistikow, Ka-Hei Law, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Mark Morris, Misaki Sato, EdoKun, SookKwan Loong, Bev Millar, Lex Azevedo, Michael Aquilina, Jason A Saslow, Yansong Li, Cristóbal Moenne, Dawn Jordan, Prasanth Mathialagan, Samuel Doerle, David Rosario, Dominik Kugelmann - they-them, Siamak Hajizadeh, Ryohky Araya, Mayank Kaul, Christophe Dessalles, and Heather Slater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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One crucial reason that life on Earth exists - Elise Cutts

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