Earth is Hiding Another Planet Deep Inside

During an ancient collision, the protoplanet named Theia slammed into Earth, leading to the creation of the Moon. But it left some of its remains inside Earth. Image Credit: CalTech

Earth’s early history is marked by massive collisions with other objects, including planetesimals. One of the defining events in our planet’s history, the formation of the Moon, likely resulted from one of these catastrophic collisions when a Mars-sized protoplanet crashed into Earth. That’s the Giant Impact Hypothesis, and it explains how the collision produced a torus of debris rotating around the Earth that eventually coalesced into our only natural satellite.

New research strengthens the idea that Theia left some of its remains inside Earth.

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The Moon Might Be More Metal-Rich Than We Thought

The Moon contains more metal than previously thought, according to a new study. Is it time to re-think the giant impact hypothesis? Image Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State University

A new study shows that the Moon is more metal-rich than previously thought. That has some far-reaching implications for our understanding of the Moon’s formation. If their results are solid, it means that we may need to re-think the giant impact hypothesis for the formation of the Moon.

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