This is how the planet earth came to be, according to a group of scientists who are researching the formation of the moon; which they say took place around 4.5 billion years ago.
when the solar system was still in its infancy, a Mars-sized planet collided with the proto-Earth and blasted our baby planet to smithereens.
Earth’s rocks did not just melt; they vaporized, the very elements in those rocks turning into gas the way boiling water turns into steam.
Eventually, the remains of the original Earth cooled and settled down, condensing to once again form a solid planet. The leftovers formed the moon.
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That’s the latest twist in the decades-old story about how Earth’s moon came to be, and it’s based on new measurements of elements in both worlds.
The moon, our first friend, is more than a familiar fixture in the night sky; it dictates the slosh of tides, stabilizes Earth’s rotation, and might contribute to earthquakes.
It is also the best place we have, other than Earth, for studying the formation of rocky worlds.
Scientists are still unsure how it formed, in part because it’s hard to reconcile the moon’s chemical composition with the original stories our computers tell.
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