"During the early solar system's game of cosmic billiards, Earth was struck by a neighbor,” said Dauphas. “It was a lucky shot. Without the moon's steadying influence on our planet's tilt, the climate ...

For decades, scientists have held to the idea that the Moon was formed by a single, massive impact between Earth and a ...

Scientists have long believed that the Moon was formed by a massive object crashing into the Earth. But what was that thing ...

An artistic rendering of a dust and gas disk encircling the young exoplanet, CT Cha b, 625 light-years from Earth. Spectroscopic data from NASA’s JWST suggest the disk contains the raw materials for ...

Moon has been Earth’s celestial companion for over four billion years. However, the formation of this natural satellite was catastrophic. It was long believed that the Moon was born from a cataclysmic ...

One of the oldest unsolved riddles in planetary science concerns the origin of the moon. Over a century ago, George Darwin ...

Apollo samples provide evidence: Researchers analyzed Moon rocks brought back by the Apollo missions and, for the first time, used their iron isotope ratios to trace where Theia originally formed.

The moon was formed 4.5 billion years ago in a "giant impact" that left Earth with a two-hour day, according to new research. Scientists have long debated the circumstances which led to the formation ...

Over 4.6 billion years ago, Earth took shape from a spinning cloud of dust and gas surrounding the young sun. Tiny particles within this cloud collided and clumped together, driven by gravity and ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An illustration of the mini-moon 2024 AT5 around Earth with the moon is the distance. | Credit: ...