New theory on Moon creation: Impact from object larger than Mars, page

Hey all,

Came across this today:

www.bbc.co.uk...

Which states a new theory suggesting that the moon was not created by an impact with an object about the size of Mars, but:

Now, Andreas Reufer, of the Center for Space and Habitability in Bern, Switzerland, and colleagues have run computer simulations that suggest another possibility: that a far larger and faster-moving body made an even more glancing blow with the young Earth.

Previous theories are discussed here:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Not that I ever put credence into Nibiru or Planet X, this is quite a blow to that belief. Now I am not saying "Here it comes! Arghhhh!", as I am sure we would have detected such a body (whatever its composition), but it does go some way to backing the theory of a "wandering" planet, or a planet with a super long orbit, or whatever.

Make of it what you will!

CC

reply to post by RockLobster

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The guys in the actual article would disagree, as the moon is mainly composed of the same isotopes as earth (especially oxygen and titanium) which means it 99% came from the earths own debris.

Cheers,

CC

reply to post by CrazyCloud

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Not that I ever put credence into Nibiru or Planet X, this is quite a blow to that belief. Now I am not saying "Here it comes! Arghhhh!", as I am sure we would have detected such a body (whatever its composition), but it does go some way to backing the theory of a "wandering" planet, or a planet with a super long orbit, or whatever.

Not really. About 4 billion years ago, the Solar System was still sorting itself out. Large clumps of matter, proto-planets or planetesimals, were colliding with each other. Some stuck together and formed planets, others did not. Under the mutual influence of gravity, these bodies either moved into stable orbits or were ejected from the Solar System. If there was a large planetesimal that collided with the Earth to form the Moon, it has either settled down or gone far away, never to return.

reply to post by RockLobster

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The moon does move away from the pull of Earth, if I'm correct, about an average of 2 inches a year, maybe two feet.

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