Astronomers say they are one step closer to understanding how the moon mighthave formed out of a giant collision between the early Earth and anothermassive object 4.5 billion years ago.
The moon is thought to have formed in acollision between the early Earth and a huge object, known by scientists asTheia.
Scientists at the University of Durham ran supercomputer simulations tosend a Mars-sized object crashing into the early Earth.
These simulationsproduced an orbiting body that could potentially evolve into a moon-likeobject.
While the researchers are careful to say this is not definitive proofof the moon’s origin, they add that it could be a promising stage inunderstanding how the celestial body formed.