Astronomers have taken a step towards understanding how the Moon might have formed out of a giant collision between the early Earth and another massive object 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists led by ...

The formation of the Moon billions of years ago is cloaked in mystery. Most astronomers believe the young Earth, still cooling off from its formation, was struck by a mars-sized body called Theia, ...

Scientists propose a 'remelting' of the Moon's surface 4.35 billion years ago due to the tidal pull of Earth causing widespread geological upheaval and intense heating. Much about the Moon remains ...

Because the Earth is doing the work of increasing the Moon's momentum, the Earth's rotation slows down in turn, as its momentum goes to the Moon. To put it another way, as the Moon's orbital momentum ...

Patrick Whelley, a University of Maryland geologist, will help run a simulation to assist astronauts in preparing for the lunar surface. (Courtesy NASA) A University of Maryland geologist will help ...

Astronomers have long suspected that the Moon formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago when a hefty planet-in-the-making called Theia collided with a young Earth. Now, researchers have found evidence that ...

The simulation below demonstrates how the single-stage formation would have happened. Theia's impact causes a massive disruption in the primordial Earth, ejecting material that initially forms two ...

The Moon formed in a catastrophic impact between the proto-Earth (Gaia) and a Mars-sized object we call Theia. The collision happened around 4.5 billion years ago but its effects are still with us.