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Visiting the Moon with the Apollo missions in the late 1960s and early 1970s revolutionized our understanding of the Moon’s origins. Previous concepts ― that the Moon was an object captured by Earth’s gravity as it sailed by, or that the Moon formed alongside Earth from the same debris ― fell out of favor after the Apollo missions brought back data and 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of ...
- Where did the Moon come from? - NASA
The Capture Theory: This theory proposes that the Moon was...
- Collision May Have Formed the Moon in Mere Hours, Simulations ...
Most theories claim the Moon formed out of the debris of...
- Where did the Moon come from? - NASA
The Moon's heavily cratered far-side. The origin of the Moon is usually explained by a Mars-sized body striking the Earth, creating a debris ring that eventually collected into a single natural satellite, the Moon, but there are a number of variations on this giant-impact hypothesis, as well as alternative explanations, and research continues into how the Moon came to be formed.
Nov 21, 2022 · The debris and vapor that derived from the impact collected in orbit around Earth through strong gravitational forces and eventually formed the Moon. This is called the giant-impact hypothesis or ...
The Capture Theory: This theory proposes that the Moon was formed somewhere else in the solar system, and was later captured by the gravitational field of the Earth. The Moon's different chemical composition could be explained if it formed elsewhere in the solar system, however, capture into the Moon's present orbit is very improbable ...
Oct 4, 2022 · Most theories claim the Moon formed out of the debris of this collision, coalescing in orbit over months or years. A new simulation puts forth a different theory – the Moon may have formed immediately, in a matter of hours, when material from the Earth and Theia was launched directly into orbit after the impact.
This proposes that the Moon formed during a collision between the Earth and another small planet, about the size of the planet Mars. The debris from this impact collected in an orbit around Earth to form the Moon.
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The resulting debris from both Earth and the impactor accumulated to form our natural satellite 239,000 miles (384,000 kilometers) away. The newly formed Moon was in a molten state, but within about 100 million years, most of the global "magma ocean" had crystallized, with less-dense rocks floating upward and eventually forming the lunar crust.
