News Of The Lunar Republic:
Researchers Identify Moon-Forming Impact

In Canup and Asphaug's computer model of the Moon's formation, a Mars-sized body (the light blue disc at top left) impacts Earth, shattering the smaller orb and setting both objects into a spin. Most of the impacting object eventually ends up on the Earth, but some fraction of it remains dispersed in a cloud of debris orbiting the planet.

As the illustration progresses, the debris from the impactor begins to collect with the assistance of Earth's gravitational pull, re-forming as the Moon, while smaller particles are scattered into space.

The entire impact sequence covers about 24 hours of simulated time. At the end of the impact, the central Earth has a rotational day of only about five hours.

Color key: lighter blue and green denotes cooler, more solid matter; orange and red denotes hotter, more liquid matter.

[Return to Main Article]