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According to the giant impact theory, the Moon formed by accreting the circum-terrestrial debris disk produced by Theia colliding with the proto-Earth. The giant impact theory can explain most of the properties of the Earth-Moon system,…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2025-05-15 Wenshuai Liu

The current standard theory of the origin of the Moon is that the Earth was hit by a giant impactor the size of Mars causing ejection of iron poor impactor mantle debris that coalesced to form the Moon. But where did this Mars-sized…

Astrophysics · Physics 2014-10-13 Edward Belbruno , J. Richard Gott

According to the giant impact theory, the Moon formed through accreting the debris disk produced by a collision between Theia and the proto-Earth. The giant impact theory can explain most of the properties of the Earth-Moon system, however,…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2025-09-09 Wenshuai Liu

The Moon is traditionally thought to have coalesced from the debris ejected by a giant impact onto the early Earth. However, such models struggle to explain the similar isotopic compositions of Earth and lunar rocks at the same time as the…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2022-10-06 Jacob A. Kegerreis , Sergio Ruiz-Bonilla , Vincent R. Eke , Richard J. Massey , Thomas D. Sandnes , Luís F. A. Teodoro

The leading theory for the origin of the Moon is the giant impact hypothesis, in which the Moon was formed out of the debris left over from the collision of a Mars-sized body with the Earth. Soon after its formation, the orbit of the Moon…

Popular Physics · Physics 2015-03-11 Emil Noordeh , Patrick Hall , Matija Cuk

The Earth's Moon is thought to have formed from a circumterrestrial disk generated by a giant impact between the proto-Earth and an impactor approximately 4.5 billion years ago. Since the impact was energetic, the disk would have been hot…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2018-12-31 Miki Nakajima , David J. Stevenson

The Giant Impact is currently accepted as the leading theory for the formation of Earth's Moon. Successful scenarios for lunar origin should be able to explain the chemical composition of the Moon (volatile content and stable isotope…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2017-11-15 Amy C. Barr

The Moon is generally thought to have formed from the debris ejected by the impact of a planet-sized object with the proto-Earth towards the end of planetary accretion. Modeling of the impact process predicts that the lunar material was…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2016-04-19 Kaveh Pahlevan , Alessandro Morbidelli

According to the giant impact theory, the Moon formed through accreting the debris disk produced by a collision between Theia and the proto-Earth, and the predicted lunar orbital inclination relative to the Earth's equatorial plane is about…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2026-04-01 Wenshuai Liu

The Earth-Moon system is unusual in several respects. The Moon is roughly 1/4 the radius of the Earth - a larger satellite-to-planet size ratio than all known satellites other than Pluto's Charon. The Moon has a tiny core, perhaps with only…

Recent high-precision measurements of the isotopic composition of lunar rocks demonstrate that the bulk silicate Earth and the Moon show an unexpectedly high degree of similarity. This is inconsistent with one of the primary results of…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2013-01-14 R. J. de Meijer , V. F. Anisichkin , W. van Westrenen

Here we critically examine the geophysical and geochemical properties of the Moon in order to identify the extent to which dynamical scenarios satisfy these observations. New joint inversions of existing lunar geophysical data (mean mass,…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2025-12-22 Paolo A. Sossi , Miki Nakajima , Amir Khan

In the leading theory of lunar formation, known as the giant impact hypothesis, a collision between two planet-size objects resulted in a young Earth surrounded by a circumplanetary debris disk from which the Moon later accreted. The range…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2023-07-13 Miles Timpe , Christian Reinhardt , Thomas Meier , Joachim Stadel , Ben Moore

Three principal concepts regarding lunar formation have been examined: the accretion hypothesis, the mega-impact theory, and the multi-impact model. The multi-impact model amalgamates the salient facets of the mega-impact theory and the…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2023-10-27 Nick Gorkavyi

The giant impact hypothesis remains the leading theory for lunar origin. However, current models struggle to explain the Moon's composition and isotopic similarity with Earth. Here we present a new lunar origin model. High-energy,…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2018-03-01 Simon J. Lock , Sarah T. Stewart , Michail I. Petaev , Zoe M. Leinhardt , Mia T. Mace , Stein B. Jacobsen , Matija Ćuk

The Moon is believed to have formed in the aftermath of a giant impact between a planetary mass body and the proto-Earth. In a typical giant impact scenario, a disk of vapor, liquid, and solid debris forms around the proto-Earth and--after…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2020-11-11 P. D. Mullen , C. F. Gammie

In the canonical model of Moon formation, a Mars-sized protoplanet "Theia" collides with proto-Earth at close to their mutual escape velocity $v_{\rm esc}$ and a common impact angle 45{\deg}. The "graze-and-merge" collision strands a…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2021-10-04 Erik Asphaug , Alexandre Emsenhuber , Saverio Cambioni , Travis S. J. Gabriel , Stephen R. Schwartz

The giant impact hypothesis is the dominant theory of how the Earth-Moon system was formed. Models have been created that can produce a disk of debris with the proper mass and composition to create our Moon. Models have also been created…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2013-07-29 Justin C. Eiland , Travis C. Salzillo , Brett H. Hokr , Justin L. Highland , Bryant M. Wyatt

The hypothesis of lunar origin by a single giant impact can explain some aspects of the Earth-Moon system. However, it is difficult to reconcile giant impact models with the compositional similarity of the Earth and Moon without violating…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2019-03-07 Raluca Rufu , Oded Aharonson , Hagai B. Perets

In the leading theory of lunar formation, known as the giant impact hypothesis, a collision between two planet-size objects resulted in a young Earth surrounded by a circumplanetary debris disk from which the Moon later accreted. The range…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2024-11-20 Thomas Meier , Christian Reinhardt , Miles Timpe , Joachim Stadel , Ben Moore
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