Collision May Have Formed the Moon in Mere Hours, Simulations Reveal

New Supercomputer Simulation Sheds Light on Moon’s Origin.

PS.
I put this in Fragile Earth because sans the moon earth would be very different, our evolution would be different the types of fauna and flora might be different. Mods please move if deemed necessary

Pretty cool stuff, this always sounded like the most plausible theory at least more so than a captured planetoid, plus you have to wonder how many earth-bound asteroids were defected or influenced by the moon, or are lots of the impact craters on the moon from that initial collision

www.nasa.gov...

Billions of years ago, a version of our Earth that looks very different than the one we live on today was hit by an object about the size of Mars, called Theia – and out of that collision the Moon was formed. How exactly that formation occurred is a scientific puzzle researchers have studied for decades, without a conclusive answer.

Most theories claim the Moon formed out of the debris of this collision, coalescing in orbit over months or years. A new simulation puts forth a different theory – the Moon may have formed immediately, in a matter of hours, when material from the Earth and Theia was launched directly into orbit after the impact.

“This opens up a whole new range of possible starting places for the Moon’s evolution,” said Jacob Kegerreis, a postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and lead author of the paper on these results published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. “We went into this project not knowing exactly what the outcomes of these high-resolution simulations would be. So, on top of the big eye-opener that standard resolutions can give you misleading answers, it was extra exciting that the new results could include a tantalisingly Moon-like satellite in orbit."

The simulations used in this research are some of the most detailed of their kind, operating at the highest resolution of any simulation run to study the Moon’s origins or other giant impacts. This extra computational power showed that lower-resolution simulations can miss out on important aspects of these kinds of collisions, allowing researchers to see new behaviors emerge in a way previous studies just couldn’t see.

ourplnt.com...

Tidal Waves
The tides would be only about one-fourth of their current size (the Sun also causes tides with stretching and squeezing the Earth). In some scenarios for the origin of life in the primitive Earth, tidal effects caused by the Moon are important since they allow some environments to be alternatively wet and dry. This can favor chemical processes producing prebiotic molecules.
In other words, by driving the tides, our lunar companion may have jump-started the life on Earth, or at least accelerated its progression.

We could be out of the Goldilocks Zone without the Moon
The giant impact that formed the moon most probably changed the Earth’s path around the sun. With this new object orbiting us, our gravitational pull the Sun exerts was also changed.
Without that impact and the moon, we may not be in the same place in our orbit. Our planet might be out of the habitable zone or Goldilocks Zone (see notes 1), meaning either it could be too hot or too cold.

In a much colder planet, liquid water may never have flowed on the surface. And without liquid water to flow, life is nearly impossible to exist. On the flip side, we could be closer to the Sun, meaning higher temperatures, and thus the possibility of water being boiled away.

Life could exist – but it would be very different
Even if life could start, because of the powerful winds and extreme seasons, (see #2 and #3 below), it would be very different than today because of the extreme conditions on Earth. Some sort of life forms would exist capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, high winds, and short days.
The smallest changes at the beginning of the evolutionary process can dramatically alter its course. Bacteria could easily adapt to these harsh conditions, of course, but complex life forms like humans – or even mammals would probably never evolve.
If complex life could find a way to evolve, evolution might favor short, stumpy creatures. Because if they stood tall, they would struggle to bear the extreme winds. Plants would also be short with long roots. There would be no trees, no rainforests, and their biodiversity.
The winds also would be very loud – so creatures would have to communicate in different ways, like changing the colors of their skin to developing some sort of sign language. Ears would probably never evolve.

The tilt of our planet’s axis would vary over time dramatically without a moon. This could create some very extreme seasons and weather conditions. Thanks to our Moon, the tilt of the axis is very stable – it only varies between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees during a cycle that averages about 40,000 years. Currently, it is 23.5 degrees.
As the tilt of our planet’s axis varies wildly, the poles wouldn’t always be cold and the equator might not always be warm. Without our Moon to stabilize us, ice ages would preferentially hit different parts of our world every few thousand years.

On YouTube some people say the moon is a spaceship. I guess time will tell. SpaceX is scheduled to land NASA's Artemis 3 mission on the lunar surface in 2025 or 2026 — the first crewed moon touchdown since Apollo 17 in 1972. The company will use its huge, reusable Starship vehicle for the job.

youtu.be...

a reply to: putnam6

If so, where’s all the water?

Surely water would have been part of the new moon forming from the old earth.

could explain the under ground cities that are dotted around the world .

a reply to: KKLOCO

Perhaps the water is still in the mineral. How much do we know about the Moon's core to be able to conclude that there is no water beneath the surface?

originally posted by: DirtWasher
a reply to: KKLOCO

Perhaps the water is still in the mineral. How much do we know about the Moon's core to be able to conclude that there is no water beneath the surface?

We know it ‘rang like a bell’ when they crashed the module into it. That sounds more like metal than water.

a reply to: KKLOCO

Remember the story of how much of the water came from ionized hydrogen ejected from the sun hitting the dust particles of the protoplanet before it formed earth. There is still huge amounts of that water throughout the mantle.

"Our world-class atom probe tomography system here at Curtin University allowed us to take an incredibly detailed look inside the first 50 nanometres or so of the surface of Itokawa dust grains, which we found contained enough water that, if scaled up, would amount to about 20 litres for every cubic metre of rock," added Professor Bland.

Source

originally posted by: KKLOCO
a reply to: putnam6

If so, where’s all the water?

Surely water would have been part of the new moon forming from the old earth.

It's there .
Just most of it is a different isotope combination .

Based on remote observations by radar instruments aboard Chandrayaan-1 and LRO, the lunar poles have over 600 billion kilograms of water ice

Water on the Moon

originally posted by: KKLOCO

originally posted by: DirtWasher
a reply to: KKLOCO

Perhaps the water is still in the mineral. How much do we know about the Moon's core to be able to conclude that there is no water beneath the surface?

We know it ‘rang like a bell’ when they crashed the module into it. That sounds more like metal than water.

Well, it was either that or the aliens had a proximity alarm that reacted to the location of the Apollo lunar module's landing site.

originally posted by: DirtWasher
a reply to: KKLOCO

Perhaps the water is still in the mineral. How much do we know about the Moon's core to be able to conclude that there is no water beneath the surface?

Yes, perhaps.

I’m more interested in why we haven’t been there in 50 years. This shouldn’t be a ? at this point.

How about the US of A devote budget resource in scientific and exploration. As opposed to missiles, tanks, war and destruction.

While we are on it, what could we have done with the billions that were sent to the Ukraine….The Moon would be a Hi Def paradise for all of us.

a reply to: putnam6

Only Problem with that Theory is there are Rock Strata on the Moon 1 Billion Years Older that the Earth .

originally posted by: Zanti Misfit
a reply to: putnam6

Only Problem with that Theory is there are Rock Strata on the Moon 1 Billion Years Older that the Earth .

How so? Did you read the quotes? whatever hit earth Theia, could have been I billion years older, while it was likely turned to a molten mass, no guarantees that solid masses weren't ejected and reformed as the new moon, on top of the moon has been hit with loads of asteroids over the eons no telling where and when those asteroids originated.

Billions of years ago, a version of ourEarth that looks very different than the one we live on today was hit by an object about the size of Mars, called Theia – and out of that collision the Moon was formed. How exactly that formation occurred is a scientific puzzle researchers have studied for decades, without a conclusive answer.

originally posted by: KKLOCO
a reply to: putnam6

If so, where’s all the water?

Surely water would have been part of the new moon forming from the old earth.

Why would the earth have to have water billions of years ago? and don't call me Shirley...

It was likely a molten ball with a thin crust, as well as even if it did, wouldn't it get ejected into space and basically evaporate in such a huge planetary impact? This was before earth even had an atmosphere or if it did the impact ended that.

originally posted by: KKLOCO
a reply to: putnam6

If so, where’s all the water?

Surely water would have been part of the new moon forming from the old earth.

frozen inside or boiled off in the vacuum of space.

a reply to: putnam6

Check out my source in my above post. A new theory based on empirical data purports that much of Earth's water could have been formed when Earth was still a cloud of dust.

Basically it was found, while studying asteroid dust of the Ikotawa asteroid, that there is water fused inside the mineral itself. Hydrogen is ejected from the sun's solar winds hitting everything in the light. A hydrogen ion hit rock atoms that contain oxygen and because of particle physics, form an H2O molecule within the aggregate.

If the Earth was a dust cloud before it was a planet, then most of the mass could have been exposed to water forming solar winds for a billion years or however long earth was a dust cloud. Earth forms into a planet and all that water is still locked up inside the minerals. Extreme pressures prevent the water from evaporating.

moon is older than the Earth. Brought here by an ancient civilization that may still be in fact our rulers... my 2 cents a reply to: putnam6

originally posted by: putnam6

originally posted by: Zanti Misfit
a reply to: putnam6

Only Problem with that Theory is there are Rock Strata on the Moon 1 Billion Years Older that the Earth .

How so? Did you read the quotes? whatever hit earth Theia, could have been I billion years older, while it was likely turned to a molten mass, no guarantees that solid masses weren't ejected and reformed as the new moon, on top of the moon has been hit with loads of asteroids over the eons no telling where and when those asteroids originated.

Billions of years ago, a version of ourEarth that looks very different than the one we live on today was hit by an object about the size of Mars, called Theia – and out of that collision the Moon was formed. How exactly that formation occurred is a scientific puzzle researchers have studied for decades, without a conclusive answer.

The Moon was a " Captured Body " . If you want to Argue to the Contrary , then Present some form of Evidence Other than " Theories " here .

originally posted by: Zanti Misfit

originally posted by: putnam6

originally posted by: Zanti Misfit
a reply to: putnam6

Only Problem with that Theory is there are Rock Strata on the Moon 1 Billion Years Older that the Earth .

How so? Did you read the quotes? whatever hit earth Theia, could have been I billion years older, while it was likely turned to a molten mass, no guarantees that solid masses weren't ejected and reformed as the new moon, on top of the moon has been hit with loads of asteroids over the eons no telling where and when those asteroids originated.

Billions of years ago, a version of ourEarth that looks very different than the one we live on today was hit by an object about the size of Mars, called Theia – and out of that collision the Moon was formed. How exactly that formation occurred is a scientific puzzle researchers have studied for decades, without a conclusive answer.

The Moon was a " Captured Body " . If you want to Argue to the Contrary , then Present some form of Evidence Other than " Theories " here .

All I pointed out was the older rocks could have been from Theia the video hypothesized. No more no less

When a thread title has the word "may" in it and it's not being used as the name of a month it's purely speculative just as your "captured moon" theory.

If you got anything new on that front on that please include it in the thread.

Till then here are some more theories that may have happened...


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