There are many different theories that point to the process of forming an earth satellite. The moon was not always near us, but has been accompanying the planet for a long time. A new study suggests the most likely scenario for what happened.
The Earth appeared about 4.5 billion years ago, and after a certain time the Moon appeared. The last 30 years, scientists have considered a single scenario of what happened. It was believed that the satellite was formed after the collision of two protoplanets. One was the newborn Earth, and the second was a Martian-sized object, named Theia. From the discarded material, an earth satellite could emerge.
Modern theory of the formation of the moon
This hypothesis of “massive blow” explains many details of the Earth and the Moon: the ratio of their sizes, features of rotation and speed. However, periodically there was information that did not fit into this hypothesis.
Computer models show that more than 60% of the moon should be made of Teia material. The problem is that most of the celestial bodies are endowed with unique chemical compounds. But lunar samples show that the satellite’s composition too closely resembles the Earth, which contradicts models.
A photograph of the surface of the moon, taken by the Apollo 17 mission.
In order to solve this problem, a new clarification was put forward: the blow was so strong that most of the Earth evaporated, and the Moon first appeared as a donut. They also said that the collision occurred with the proto-Earth, which rotated rapidly. But these scenarios were not good, because they needed too specific conditions and circumstances. A new study from a specialist on the Natsuki Hasono planets indicates that most of the earth’s material reached orbit to form the moon, but the event happened when the Earth was partially melted.
The process of formation of the moon through the eyes of the artist
New computer models introduced our planet, covered with an ocean of magma (as it looked after birth). Then they analyzed what could have happened when a giant martian-sized impactor crashed into a molten protoplanet.
It turned out that even the “sliding” blow from Teyi could free up more than 70% of the Moon-forming fragments from the magmatic ocean of the Earth, because molten rock is easier to tear off the Earth than solid material. This scenario also explains the similarity of the compositions of objects and features of their rotation.
If before the influence of the igneous ocean was ignored, now they consider that this is one of the most important conditions for explaining the creation of the Moon.
