Found planet debris to prove the origin of the Moon

How the moon was formed is a question that scientists have been searching for answers for centuries.

How the moon was formed is a question that scientists have been searching for answers for centuries.

According to the 'Big Collision' theory , a planet the size of Mars called Theia collided with Earth billions of years ago that created the Moon.

Despite the assumption that has been well received by the scientific community, the fact is that no one has found the origin of Theia or the process of it hitting the Earth.

But a new evidence has emerged that has shed more light on the theory. Geoscience newspaper reported on March 10 that researchers from the University of New Mexico have found Theia's debris on the Moon.

A research team at the University of New Mexico examined isotope samples in lunar rocks collected at different depths. When compared to rock samples on Earth, they found the deeper the rock, the heavier the oxygen isotope.

'Theia's characteristic oxygen isotope component was not completely lost through homogenization during a major collision. The data collected shows that the Moon's coating has undergone a bit of mixing but there are still quite obvious traces of the impact from Theia ' , said scientist and co-author Zach Sharp.

Picture 1 of Found planet debris to prove the origin of the Moon

In 1946, geologist Reginald Aldworth Daly of Harvard University thought the moon was made up of a collision.(Photo: Futurism).

"The oxygen isotopes in lunar rocks are nearly identical to those found on Earth, but are very different from those found on solar system objects ," the Science Alert reports.

As such, Theia was thought to originate from outside the Solar System.

Since the 1980s, the 'Big collision' theory has been largely accepted by scholars for an explanation of the origin of the Moon. The content of this theory that the Moon was the result of a collision between the Earth and the planet Theia 4.5 billion years ago .

After the collision, debris from Theia and the Earth flew into space and merged to form the Moon, creating a violent flood on Earth.

  • History of the Moon
  • New hypothesis about the origin of the Moon
Update 18 March 2020
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