The Formation of the MoonThe leading theory for the formation of the Earths early moon involves the

The Formation of the MoonThe leading theory for the formation of the Earths early moon involves the impact of a Mars-sized planetry object (“Theia”) 4.5 billion years ago. In relation to the geological timeline, this was at the very end of the Earth’s original accumulation, at the start of the Hadean Eon.The name “Theia” derives from the titan mother of the Ancient Greek Goddess of the moon.Supporting evidence of the giant impact hypothesis includes:• Lunar sampling indicates that the surface of the moon was once molten• Collisions dominate theories of the formation of the solar system.• Isotopic ratios of lunar and earth-derived stable isotopes are identical – indicating a common origin• The moon, similar to Earth, has a small, dense, iron core• The orientation of the Earth is very similar to the moons orbital orientation.The main challenge to this theory is currently, no computer model has documented the evolution of debris into the formation of a single moon. Additionally, no model has shown why the moon is depleted of volatile elements and questions remain as to why similar sized planets, such as Venus, do not have a single moonFantastic, cinematographic explanation of the collision and subsequent lunar coalescence - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYOarZKipnUReferences:http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6272/493https://web.archive.org/web/20100730135923/http://es.ucsc.edu/~rcoe/eart206/canup_Moon_Nature_01.pdfImage:https://wordlesstech.com/how-common-are-earth-moon-planetary-systems/Alex -- source link

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