• Question: Why do we have the moon?? :) :) :)

    Asked by 9willj to Antonia, Douglas, Hugh, Matt, Tom on 17 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by 9adamd.
    • Photo: Douglas Blane

      Douglas Blane answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Scientists believe the moon formed as a result of a collision – the Giant Impact or “Big Whack.”

      According to this theory, about four and a half billion years ago Earth collided with another planet-sized object, and this threw a cloud of vapourised rock out from Earth’s surface. This then went into orbit around the Earth.

      The cloud cooled and condensed into a ring of small solid bodies, which then gathered together to form the moon.

      There are other theories. But that’s the one that has most evidence for it.

    • Photo: Matthew Hurley

      Matthew Hurley answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Isn’t it just a big bit of rock that got stuck?

    • Photo: Hugh Roderick

      Hugh Roderick answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      There are two theories I know of. One says that the moon was either a planet that came too close to the earth many millions of years ago and got trapped by earth’s gravity and the other suggests that even further back when the earth was still a ball of molten rock it was crashed into by another planet about the size of mars and the material that was thrown out from the collision went on to form the moon. But I don’t think anyone knows for sure.

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