Traces of another world found on the Moon (BBC)

Researchers have found evidence of the world that crashed into the Earth billions of years ago to form the Moon.

Analysis of lunar rock brought back by Apollo astronauts shows traces of the "planet" called Theia.

The researchers claim that their discovery confirms the theory that the Moon was created by just such a cataclysmic collision.

The study has been published in the journal Science.

...
Earlier analyses had shown Moon rock to have originated entirely from the Earth whereas computer simulations had shown that the Moon ought to have been mostly derived from Theia

Alien origin
Now a more refined analysis of Moon rock has found evidence of material thought to have an alien origin.

Traces of another world found on the Moon (BBC)

To me, this news highlights how much we don't know about our OWN solar system - let alone other solar systems.

We still have a lot to learn.





The National Geographic website is reporting this news under the headline "Lunar Rocks Are First Direct Evidence of Collision That Formed Moon : Lunar samples from Apollo landings confirm a long-held theory":
news.nationalgeographic.com...

The Guardian is also reporting the news:
www.theguardian.com...

Moon created in violent collision with Earth, clues in Apollo rocks suggest

Chemical signatures in rocks from Apollo moon missions point to cataclysmic impact between Earth and Mars-sized planet

...
A new analysis of lunar rocks brought home by Apollo mission astronauts has shed fresh light on the violent birth of the moon. Researchers in Germany have found small but distinctive chemical signatures that suggest the moon formed when a giant planetary body slammed into the early Earth 4.5bn years ago.

Scientists have several theories for how the moon may have formed, but the "giant impact hypothesis" has been the leading explanation for some time. A cataclysmic impact between the Earth and a Mars-sized planet, known as Theia, would have scattered rock and dust from both bodies out into space, and these fragments would then have coalesced to form the moon.

But there was a problem with this scenario that left some researchers in doubt: variants of chemical elements on Earth seemed identical to those on the moon. If the moon had formed in a huge collision, then lunar rock should differ from Earth rock, because the former would contain material from Theia.

Scientists at the University of Göttingen analysed rocks brought back by the Apollo 11, 12 and 16 missions and found small but significant differences in the ratios of oxygen isotopes in moon and Earth rocks.

I wonder if I was the only one to think of a certain black monolith (from the book/movie "2001"...) when reading the BBC's headline.

a reply to: IsaacKoi

First thing I thought of too.

a reply to: IsaacKoi

My God, its full of stars!

And the BBC knows do not forget people that they predicted WTC 7 early so this organization is on the ball [sarcasm ]



i thought the moon was a giant hollow spaceship i am never trusting that David Icke fellow again

a reply to: IsaacKoi

To layman like me, sounds like a pretty big stretch in conclusions. All this looking at rocks and reading billions of years of unwritten history is rather iffy for me.

Just like carbon dating.

I'm pretty sure sooner or later we will find these methods somewhat flawed.

I thought the moon once part of earth theory was just that, a theory and not scientifically proven.

Was the moon once part of Earth?

Did Venus Give Earth the Moon? Wild New Theory on Lunar History

etc... There are to many theories out there. Just pointing out that.

a reply to: IsaacKoi

You know I happened to catch this on the BBC site earlier and did wonder how long it would take for it to reach ATS



In truth though, this has been a theory for a long time - not totally sure it's a major surprise and have to say I'm not that sure where the 2001 film link comes from?

a reply to: IsaacKoi

I wonder why they believe that the mars like planet should have been composed of radically different material than the earth? Seems logical that it could very well have been composed of similar material.

originally posted by: IsaacKoi

"Moon created in violent collision with Earth, clues in Apollo rocks suggest"

That first part of The Guardian header looks a little misleading, until you sense it out!

It's early days yet though. They seem to be saying that there are similarities between the Moon and Earth, yet not the same, and again similarities between Earth and theoretical Theia, but not the same. So now they would need to go to the Moon and do a little mining...sorry digging, to get more pristine rocks.

The other thing is, where is the rest of the material from the original collision..there has to be some? Why should the Moon have formed out of all of it if Theia disintegrated, and why should Theia have disintegrated.

a reply to: smurfy

It was a huge ASTEROID! It hit the Earth and shattered a huge piece from it.

There will be traces of the asteroid, but it is composed of Earth.

The Moon will be very deep earth rock indeed, beyond the metal strata.

The Moon was formed at the very beginning of Earth when it was all fire and brimstone.

a reply to: IsaacKoi
Interesting that no-one is mentioning the giant elephant in the you-know-where...
Being - Sitchin said that such a collision was described in the ancient texts.
Correct, or not, I find it interesting.

originally posted by: Stayawayjoe
a reply to: smurfy

It was a huge ASTEROID! It hit the Earth and shattered a huge piece from it.

There will be traces of the asteroid, but it is composed of Earth.

The Moon will be very deep earth rock indeed, beyond the metal strata.

The Moon was formed at the very beginning of Earth when it was all fire and brimstone.

It would be huge alright, the size of Mars, and unfortunately the impact theory is meant to explain why the Moon is a relative 'johnny come lately' 110 million years after the start of the Solar System.

originally posted by: WanDash
a reply to: IsaacKoi
Interesting that no-one is mentioning the giant elephant in the you-know-where...
Being - Sitchin said that such a collision was described in the ancient texts.
Correct, or not, I find it interesting.

But according to the NatGeo article, it happened around 4.5 billion years ago. Who would have been around to describe the collision?

a reply to: Pauligirl

Betty White?



I have thought about these kinds of things. There are texts that seem to hint at some sort of knowledge of events that are too far flung for humans to have seen. And it seems like a lame cop out....but I do think divination of some sort has helped these descriptions.

The shaman/mystic is a deeply rooted part of all ancient people.

a reply to: IsaacKoi

Interesting theory, I recently watched this recently, think it may be a pretty good indication of how it would've felt had people been alive when this event is said to have occured.

I also suspect that the idea for that movie may have been born from this theory.

a reply to: IsaacKoi

I see the article mentions that a 'mars' sized planet is what collided.

Has anyone seen the giant scar across the surface of Mars?

a reply to: LightAssassin

One side of Mars looks like it got hit with buckshot. One side is relatively plain in comparison. Perhaps Mars was hit with debris from the collision.