Since the 1970s, astronomers have suspected that the moon was created when a giant protoplanet called Theia struck Earth. In a new study, researchers from Durham University claim that the impact immediately placed the moon into orbit around Earth.
Scientists have analysed lunar crystals brough back from the last Apollo mission. Their analysis suggests the moon dates back to at least 4.46 billion yearsDespite being Earth's closest celestial companion, there has long been doubt over how and when the moon formed.The most widely accepted explanation of why the moon exists is the 'giant-impact theory', suggesting that a Mars-sized planet smashed into the Earth.
Advertisement The crystals must have formed after the giant impact which created the moon, researchers say, because that high-energy collision melted the rock which eventually became the moon's surface - creating a magma ocean which would also have melted any crystals. The crystals must have formed after the giant impact which created the moon, researchers say, because that high-energy collision melted the rock which eventually became the moon's surface - creating a magma ocean which would also have melted any crystals
An atom-by-atom analysis showed how many of the atoms inside the zircon crystals had undergone radioactive decay, which can turn uranium into lead, for example. 'It's an anchor point for so many questions about the Earth. When you know how old something is, you can better understand what has happened to it in its history.'
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