Many of us look to the stars for answers to life’s most complex questions. But actually, some of the greatest mysteries lie beneath our very feet. One might think we’d know the Earth pretty well by now but, in fact, our planet’s core remains shrouded in enigma. Indeed, there are two gigantic blobs located beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean that occupy around six per cent of the world’s entire volume. And yet, we’re still not entirely sure what they’re made of or where they came from. There are a number of hypotheses, including that they are piles of oceanic crust that have accumulated over billions of years. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But a more interesting theory is that they are huge chunks of an ancient planet that hit the Earth around 4.5 billion years ago. To give an indication of just how massive these things are, the structure under Africa – an area known as Tuzo – is thought to be around 800km (497 miles) tall – the equivalent of some 90 Mount Everests stacked on top of one another, as IFLScience notes. The problem with determining the origin of these monster formations is that there are no direct ways of observing the Earth’s core. The deepest hole humans have ever dug – branded the "entrance to hell" – reached a pretty staggering 12,263m (40,230ft), but that doesn’t even come close to breaking through the crust to the layers beneath. Our most effective tool for analysing what lies beneath the ground is a technique called seismic tomography, which looks at how waves of energy travel when earthquakes occur. Since rocks and liquids have different densities, the waves move through them at different speeds. By measuring the tremors from different points on the surface, geologists can determine what kind of material the waves are travelling through and, in so doing, map out the Earth’s interior. It was by using this technique that the two unusual structures – known as large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) – were found. Waves travel more slowly in these areas – fondly known as “blobs” – than through the surrounding lower mantle, indicating that they’re made of something different. We can’t tell what this material is based on seismic tomography data alone, but some scientists like to believe that they are the remnants of an ancient planet called Theia – an idea known as the “giant impact hypothesis”. According to this hypothesis, around 4.5 billion years ago, a Mars-sized object collided with the Earth. This impact not only created the planet we call home today, but also threw off enough rock to form the moon that lights up our night skies. Some scientists suggest that some of Theia’s leftovers also sunk to the bottom of the planet, probably settling somewhere above the core – thereby forming at least one of the two LLSVPs. More Updates About Strange Blob Structures Inside Planet Earth youtu.be Experts have been investigating the area for decades but there’s still no way of knowing for sure just what these two giant blobs are. Still, studies into Theia have offered important insights into how the possible collision might have kickstarted key plate tectonic and mantle motion inside our planet – crucial processes for establishing the world on which we live. It’s also a useful reminder that we still have so much to learn about our planet and where we came from. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Oleksandr Usyk faces Daniel Dubois in Poland this weekend, as the unbeaten Ukrainian defends the unified heavyweight titles. Usyk took the belts from Anthony Joshua with a decision win in 2021 before repeating the trick last August to retain them. He was then in talks to unify the titles against WBC champion Tyson Fury, but negotiations collapsed and led the southpaw, 36, to a new opponent. That opponent is Dubois, who will be up against his toughest foe by far when he fights Usyk in Wroclaw. The Briton, 25, has an impressive knockout record of 18 from 19 wins, but he has also shown vulnerabilities. His sole professional defeat came against Joe Joyce in 2020, when “Dynamite” Daniel suffered a fractured eye socket, and he was down three times in his most recent win – against Kevin Lerena – partly due to a knee injury. Here’s all you need to know about Usyk vs Dubois. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. When is the fight? Usyk vs Dubois is set to take place at the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw, Poland, on Saturday 26 August. The main card is expected to begin at 7pm BST (11am PT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET), with ring walks for the main event likely to follow at 10pm BST (2pm PT, 4pm CT, 5pm ET). How can I watch it? In the UK, the fight and undercard will air live on TNT Sports pay-per-view (formerly BT Sport). The event will cost £19.95 and is not exclusive to TNT subscribers. It will also stream live on the broadcaster’s website and app. No US broadcaster has been confirmed at the time of writing. If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the event, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help: Get great deals on the best VPNs in the market. Odds Usyk to win – 1/10; Usyk via KO, TKO or DQ – 4/11 Dubois to win – 15/2; Dubois via KO, TKO or DQ – 9/1 Draw – 22/1 Via Betway. • Get all the latest boxing betting sites’ offers. Full card (subject to change) Oleksandr Usyk (C) vs Daniel Dubois (WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles) Denys Berinchyk vs Anthony Yigit (lightweight) Dmytro Mytrofanov vs Hamzah Sheeraz (middleweight) Daniel Lapin vs Aro Schwartz (light-heavyweight) Fiodor Czerkaszyn vs Anauel Ngamissengue (middleweight) Rafal Wolczecki vs Roberto Arriaza (middleweight) Vasile Cebotari vs Joel Julio (welterweight) Nursultan Amanzholov vs Lazizbek Mullojonov (heavyweight) Oleksandr Solomennikov vs Piotr Gudel (featherweight) Aadam Hamed vs TBA (super-welterweight) Ziyad Almaayouf vs Janos Penzes (super-lightweight) Bryce Mills vs Damian Tymosz (super-lightweight) Yaroslav Khartsyz vs Konrad Czajkowski (lightweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Anthony Joshua has the blueprint to beat Deontay Wilder – is he brave enough to use it? Conor McGregor on UFC return: ‘They’re not going to let me fight’ Sean O’Malley becomes newest UFC superstar with dazzling KO of Aljamain Sterling Who is fighting on Usyk vs Dubois undercard this weekend? What time does Usyk vs Dubois start this weekend? Hamzah Sheeraz relishing chance to beat Dmytro Mytrofanov ‘in his backyard’

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