According to this study, the moon would have formed in just a few hours

Space – and if the moon formed in just a few hours, and not over several years, contrary to what we thought so far? This is the hypothesis put forward by a study published on Tuesday, October 4 in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters. assets natural satellite subordinate a land Full of mystery, and these new research works shook the scientific world, As you can see in the video above the article.

Why is the classical theory so divisive?

Theories about the moon’s origins agree that it was formed during a collision between Theia, a planet the size of MarsAnd our planet about 4.5 billion years ago. Where this new hypothesis differs from the previous one is about how this debris came together to form the satellite we can observe today.

The most popular theory is that the moon formed from the debris of this collision, and merged into orbit for months or years. But this scenario does not correspond to the composition of the lunar rocks recovered during the missions Apollo. These should consist primarily of Theia debris, but analyzes performed show a composition similar to Earth.

A new revolutionary theory?

for researchers from NASA And Durham University (UK), at the origin of this new work, there is no doubt: the composition of the moon shows that it formed instantly, within a few hours, when debris from Earth smashed Thea. into space after the collision. Simulations from this hypothesis gave a composition of 60% of the material coming from the Earth, as opposed to only 30% for the classical theory.

But to confirm this theory, other lunar samples will be needed. This is also one of the goals of the future Tasks of Artemis NASA, whose first flight is scheduled (often postponed) between November 12 and 27.

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