A Giant Orbital Impact Hypothesis for the Origin of the Pacific Basin, Pangaea Distribution, and Earth's Axial Tilt

This paper proposes a unified planetary-scale hypothesis linking several global asymmetries of the Earth—including the formation of the Pacific Ocean, the clustering of continental masses (Pangaea), and the tilt of Earth's rotational axis—to a giant oblique collision with a co-orbital proto-planet approximately one billion years ago. The Pacific Basin is interpreted as a massive impact crater, and the asymmetric distribution of land and sea as a recoil effect of this collision. Additionally, the paper suggests that the Earth's polar asymmetry (continental South Pole vs. oceanic North Pole) may result from secondary impacts or structural rebound. Furthermore, the paper considers the possibility that such collisions—particularly with a Mars-sized "mini-Earth"—may have contributed not only to the physical structure of the planet, but also to the chemical conditions that enabled the origin of life. The theory is supported by dynamical arguments: two co-orbital bodies with even a slight angular velocity difference (Δω ≠ 0) will inevitably converge and collide over astronomical timescales. The hypothesis provides a framework in which planetary structure, tectonics, polar asymmetry, and even biogenesis are linked through repeated orbital impacts. Testable predictions include deep mantle anomalies, crustal age asymmetries, and isotopic traces of past impact events. Author Tetsuo Konno(今野哲夫)