Jakarta –
Billions of years ago, our version of the Earth was very different from what it is today. The planet was once hit by a Mars-sized object called Theia, and from that collision the Moon was formed.
The formation of the Moon is still a scientific conundrum that researchers have continued to study for decades. But until now, there is still no convincing answer. Most theories hold that the Moon formed from the debris of this collision, remaining in orbit for months or years.
A recent simulation proposes a different theory. The moon probably formed rapidly, within seconds, when material from Earth and Theia passed directly into orbit after the collision.
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“This discovery opens up a number of possible new starting sites for the evolution of the Moon,” said Jacob Kegerreis, postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, and lead author of the published study. in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
“Initially we did not know exactly what the results of this high resolution simulation would be. It is interesting to know that the results of this latest study may include satellites similar to the Moon in orbit,” he continued as quoted by official site NASA, Thursday (6/10/2022).
The simulations used in the study are among the most detailed of their kind, and operate at the highest resolution of any simulation performed to study the origins of the Moon or other giant impacts.
This additional computing power suggests that low-resolution simulations can miss important aspects of these types of collisions, allowing researchers to see new behaviors emerge in ways that previous research could not.
In addition to learning more about the Moon, this study could bring us closer to understanding how our Earth has become the life-sustaining world it is today.
“The more we learn about how the Moon formed, the more we discover the evolution of our Earth,” said Vincent Eke, researcher at Durham University and co-author of the paper.
“Their stories are intertwined and can be echoed in the stories of other planets altered by similar or very different collisions,” he added.
The cosmos is full of collisions of universal objects. Collisions are an important part of how planetary bodies form and evolve. On Earth, we know that the impact with Theia and other changes throughout her history were part of how she was able to gather the materials necessary for life.
The more scientists can simulate and analyze what played a role in these collisions, the better equipped we will be to understand how a planet could evolve to become as habitable as our Earth.
The video below shows a simulation of the formation of the Moon from an object colliding with the Earth.
(rns / fay)
