The moon, an inspiration to humanity for millennia, emerged about 4.5 billion years ago after a giant collision between the young Earth and a Mars-sized protoplanet that astronomers call Theia. New computer models created by researchers from Imperial College London have confirmed that this cataclysmic event was a key moment in the formation of our planet and its satellites. County news portal reports this.
According to astrophysicist Jacob Kegerris, who studies the early solar system using supercomputer simulations, the giant collision not only gave birth to the Moon but also caused a chain of consequences that determined the evolution of the Earth.
“If there was no Moon,” the scientist noted, “there would be no tides, and perhaps our aquatic ancestors would never have set foot on land.”
Computer models based on fine-grained fluid dynamics allow scientists to reconstruct the early stages of planet formation.
“We describe a system with millions of particles, each representing a piece of matter. The supercomputer calculates how they move and interact under gravity and pressure,” Kegerris explains.
Such simulations show that without a large impact it is impossible to explain how such a large amount of material could have been thrown into orbit to form the Moon. Each year the Moon moves about 3.8 cm away from Earth. By tracking this motion, researchers can reconstruct its orbital history and clarify how quickly Earth was spinning immediately after the collision.
The “alien ship” has an unbelievable color before approaching Earth
Additionally, the Moon's surface has remained largely unchanged for billions of years – unlike Earth, where everything is obliterated by wind, water and tectonic processes. This makes the Moon an “archive” of the early history of the Solar System.
“It's a big puzzle with a lot of pieces,” concluded Kegerris. “To finally understand how the Moon formed, we need to improve models and continue to study the Earth-Moon system.”
Previously, the mystery of the cosmic origin of gold was revealed.
