See how the moon appeared. Ancient planet crashed into Earth

Most astronomers believe that the young Earth was attacked by a Mars-sized object called

Theia about 4.5 billion years ago, and the proto-Moon emerged from the debris.As it orbited the Earth, it cooled and picked up debris from orbit.At that time, the Moon was much closer to Earth than it is today. 

Screenshot of one of the simulators showing how the Moon would have formed from the collision of the young Earth with Theia, a body the size of Mars. Image Credit: Sergio Ruiz-Bonilla

Teia speed, impact angle and rotation speedbodies influenced the collision with the Earth and the formation of the Moon. The research team examined a wide range of possible conditions, from no spin to fast spin and from gliding to more direct hits in their new study. The data made it possible to simulate the collision of Theia with the Earth and the formation of the Moon.

When the simulations tested the impact effect of non-rotating Theia, the collision resulted in a satellite with about 80% the mass of the Moon.And the addition of a slight rotation led to the second moon being in orbit around the Earth.That being said, some of the collisions studied led to the merger of early Earth and Theia, while others showed just a glancing shockbetween bodies.

In the video above, you can watch a simulation showing details of an ancient collision between early Earth and a Mars-sized body.

Researchers will continue to refine the models by looking at how mass, speed, rotation, and other factors can affect the impact that formed the moon.

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