How was the moon formed?

Theories about the origin of the moon

There are various theories not only about the Earth itself but also about its faithful companion. Scientists, philosophers, astronomers, and other experts have been discussing for centuries how the moon was formed. Among all the different theories, however, the collision theory has ultimately prevailed since the 1980s.

The collision theory about the formation of the moon

It all began about 4.4 billion years ago, long before the history of man as we know it today. The asteroid Theia, which was about the size of Mars, grazed the Earth on its journey through space - a collision of two extremely strong and large celestial bodies occurred.

Due to this impact of the streak, the energy released heated the Earth's surface extremely. According to experts studying the subject, it is said to have measured 10,000 degrees Celsius and subsequently melted into a boiling magma blanket.

The resulting explosion caused trillions of tonnes of rock from the asteroid and Earth to vaporise and form a huge cloud. Over time, this cloud condensed into the Moon's star in space.

Probability of the collision theory

After numerous tests of the collision theory, modern scientists were also able to confirm this theory on the basis of many pieces of evidence. However, there is hardly any information about the third part of this theory, the asteroid Theia. Because of this, several other theories exist today, but none of them could be verified as often as the collision theory.

Other theories about the formation of the moon

Although the collision theory is the most dominant theory about the formation of the moon, there are several other approaches that try to explain the beginning of the moon.

The "sibling theory", for example, assumes that the Moon and the Earth were formed almost simultaneously and in close proximity to each other with the Big Bang.

According to the "spin-off theory", there was a hot, viscous, fast-rotating primordial Earth from which a huge droplet was cut off, which then became the moon.

In the "capture theory", the moon formed far away from the Earth in space and was bound by the Earth's gravitational pull in a chance close encounter.

In the "many moons theory", on the other hand, several moons were captured at the same time and collided after some time. These fragments then formed the moon we know and love today.

Which theory do you think is most likely? And what did the moon look like when your own life on Earth began? Find out here!