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Revolutionary Lunar Origin Theory Challenges Decades-Old Planetary Science Models Long-Standing Mystery: How the Moon Really Formed One of the longest-standing mysteries in planetary science is how the Moon came into being. More than a century ago, George Darwin suggested that powerful tidal and centrifugal forces acting on a rapidly spinning proto-Earth caused the Moon to break away and settle into orbit around the planet. However, the idea later conflicted with the laws of conservation. A proto-Earth rotating with a day lasting just two to three hours would have possessed roughly four times the angular momentum of the present Earth-Moon system, raising the question of where that excess momentum went. Theia Impact: The Dominant Modern Hypothesis The leading explanation that emerged instead proposes that a Mars-sized object, dubbed Theia, collided with the proto-Earth. The impact ejected material from both bodies into orbit, where it eventually clumped together to form the Moon. When ...

Old Moon, Young Crust: New Evidence Points to Lunar Volcanism and Greater Age Introduction: The Mystery of the Moon's Age After its formation, the moon underwent periods of extreme volcanism, during which its crust repeatedly melted and was thoroughly mixed. At the time, the moon was in a closer orbit to Earth, and the tidal forces generated by this proximity caused internal heating that drove the volcanic activity. Such conditions are reminiscent of lo, Jupiter's moon, which remains the most volcanically active object in the solar system. New Study Resolves Contradictions Resolving earlier contradictions, a study published today in Nature  by researchers from the University of California Santa Cruz, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), and the Coll è ge de France concludes that the moon formed between 4.43 and 4.51 billion years ago. The crust, however, is estimated to be 80 – 160 million years younger. The moon has proven to be surprisingly enigmatic when...