it was inside Earth's synestia that the Moon formed ( for now )
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A new explanation for the Moon’s origin has it forming inside the Earth when our planet was a seething, spinning cloud of vaporized rock, called a synestia. The new model led by researchers at the University of California, Davis resolves several problems in lunar formation. According to a new paper it was inside Earth's synestia that the Moon formed rather than a collision with Mars sized body called Thia 4.5 billion years ago that threw material into Earth's orbit. "The Moon is chemically almost the same as the Earth, but with some differences. This is the first model that can match the pattern of the Moon's composition." The Moon and Earth are made up of similar elements, which is consistent with the broken off chunk, but there are some differences that remain puzzling.For instance, relative to Earth, the Moon is far less abundant in volatile elements such as copper, potassium, sodium and zinc.
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The old theory: Giant Impact:
This theory says that 4.5 billion years ago the Earth was struck by a Mars-sized object. The remaining debris formed the Earth as we know it and the Moon. This has been the favored theory for a while because it explained a lot of the unique features of the Moon. Features like the Moon having a lower density than the Earth, a small iron core, and lunar and terrestrial rocks having the same stable-isotope ratios. This theory, however, does not cover everything. One issue is that it does not account for why the debris formed into a single Moon rather than a few smaller moons. Still, this remains the current leading theory. |
credit: Sean Raymond
http://nautil.us/blog/the-genetics-of-the-earth-and-moon |
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The new theory: Synestia:
This theory explains why the Moon has a similar chemical composition as the Earth. It also starts out 4.5 billion years ago. At this time the Earth was a spinning cloud of vapor called synestia. Which is the result of a planet-size impact that had a high amount of energy and angular momentum. The result is a large donut-shaped cloud around a small chunk of early planet Earth. These structures probably don’t last very long as they will shrink as they lose heat and form into planets. After the large collision, a chunk of debris must have been floating around in the cloud, which collected material until it formed the Moon. This accounts for the Moon not having easily vaporized elements in its composition. |
An artist's impression of a synestia, a hypothetical object made of
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