NASA Supercomputer Has Theory on Moon’s Formation

In one of the highest resolution simulations of the Moon’s formation, a new NASA and Durham University supercomputer tells a different story of its origin: the Lunar surface may have formed in a matter of hours after a collision when material from the Earth and a Mars-sized body were launched directly into orbit.

“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.

Transcript

00:00:00 A fresh take on the origin of Earth’s Moon This new supercomputer simulation shows the Moon may have formed in just a few hours It's one of the highest resolution simulations of the Moon’s formation The simulation starts with the collision of a Mars-sized body with our planet Debris from the impact forms into two bodies The smaller of the two will become the Moon The gravity of the larger body propels the smaller body forward… and launches it onto a wide and stable orbit The simulation opens up new possibilities for the Moon’s evolution... and will help researchers better understand the intertwined history of Earth and the Moon