Before criticizing this theory I would carefully research the data brought back from Apollo as well as the data from as deep within the Earth as we have explored. There is good correlation that accounts for a glancing blow. As the Earth was still molten the cast off material was also which accounts for the partial accretion of the Moon. Yes it is a theory as we don't have JPGs of the event, but the data all lines up pretty well. As for the Pacific Basin being the impact site, there was no Basin at the time of the collision so that would preclude that, again in theory.
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Our "common sense" and "logic" at one scale of being (about 5 to 6 feet high here in this gravity well) do not necessarily serve as good models of things much larger and much smaller than ourselves.
OK, how about we figure out how to make those neat cameras used in the book "battlefield Earth" shoot them out at about the estimated distance. Then get a recording to prove this event did in fact happen.
Personally, I think this hypothesis is quite intriguing. I believe that something did hit Earth eons ago. A Mars sized object? I doubt something THAT big hit Earth. Remember, Mars is pretty big compared to most bodies in our solar system. Earth would be much bigger if a Mars sized object collided with it. I still think this hypothesis is correct though. The object, Thea I believe it's called, could have sent Earth into a completely different orbit or even out of the solar system, but scientists have tested and proved that if this object hit at just the right angle, Earth would've barely moved at all and the debris left over from the impact would eventually create the relatively large object we call "Luna". One thing I still question is the Pacific ocean being the impact basin. It's been what... roughly 4 billion years since this impact? Earth's tectonic plates move, and another thing is that the debris and the unrecognizable molten Earth would coeless and destroy any impact craters if any in the short process. I highly doubt this part of the theory.
Could the Mars sizes object that hit Earth really been Mars? If not where did it go? Shouldn’t it still be in orbit somewhere around the Sun? Just a question. Don’t shoot me if it sounds stupid Wayne :?
If the object that had hit Earth were Mars, Mars wouldn't be there now :| Where did it go? Atleast few thousand tonnes of the semi-molten and silicate surface would have been vaporized instantly, another huge quantity would have been blown out into near space the rest would've quickly turned molten and some physics I can't explain occured and the *some* debris launched off from the impact rained back down on the infant earth and the rest settled into a disk around our planet that cooled and started to clump together into the moon!
OK, so what are the possibilities that the missing material between proto-Earth and Thea solidified and is now called Mercury. Mercury seems to be a planet core without a crust. Would the material that now makes up Mercury, Earth and our Moon feasibly balance out to two reasonably sized terrestrial planets with two reasonably sized cores?
Simulations show that the glancing blow, even though it was 'glancing' still obliterated the object that struck Earth according to simulations. These simulations sholw that the differentiated object's core would have been accreted to Earth and combined with Earth's core. The mantle from each of the objects would have formed the Moon, and evidence shows that the density of the Moon matches the density of the Earth's mantle. One question that lingers is a Mars sized formed somewhere not near Earth would have a different isotopic signature with its elements. However, when we look at the Moon's isotopes, they appear to match Earth and not show evidence of mixing with another body.
If an object the size of mars hit us long ago(not to say we didn't run into it), it wouldn't necessarily knock our block off. It might have been exactly what gave us (the earth) our orbit around the sun. And with gravity assisting us from the sun and the other planets that surround us, we kinda just stayed put and started spinning so to speak. I believe Tidal lock is what its called. Its the reason why we only see one side of the moon here on earth. Think of tidal lock like a bungy cord and on either end of the strap are planets. .:..-o=0
kravjar666":3m75oy6r said:
Ahh but strangely enough the brain that thought of your scale model is much more powerful than any planet or galaxy out there.
Common sense can be very helpful sometimes but since that is the only theory that seems even somewhat credible most scientists stick with it. Even though its pretty ridiculous, its their only theory for explaining the moon in their scientific models.
grass_stain":4yb4jbl2 said:
Do you mean knock the Earth out of the solar system? I think only a close encounter with another star can do such a thing. It probably did move earth out of its old orbit and into another orbit around the Sun. I really don't think the scientist who first came up with this hypothesis will be insulted by your remarks. :twisted:
People keep imagining a head on impact between the two objects during Earth's formation. More likely, two objects going in almost the same direction had (similar to cars in traffic today) a rear end collision. This would be a softer impact, but still create the debris cloud ring that would condense into the moon. A head on collision would have vaporized both planets and left a debris field around the sun.
Yea, the most modern theories on Moon formation seem to say yes it did happen. But can I ask a question. What happened to the Mars size object, afterall the Earth is still around? Does this mean that the Earth was once much smaller and the "new" Earth & the moon are a composite of the "old" Earth and a Mars size planet obliterated upon impact? :?
anunis":3nj5ggmb said:
Since you can only travel at the speed of light, how do you get it far enough away to capture the light that has been traveling for 4.5 billion years, and then get it back to us????
CommonMan":2t0gzx0t said:
NP, Common Man.
The object was destroyed in the collision, with part of it becoming absorbed by earth, and part of it becoming the moon.
Bill_the_Engineer":3998dy9y said:
There's no way for the material to have wound up in Mercury's orbit. Anything from the collision that headed toward the sun would have been traveling far to fast to stop at Mercury's orbit. One of the major problems that the MESSENGER spacecraft is overcoming to eventuually enter orbit around Mercury is how to get rid of the energy it had when it left earth. That's been accomplished with an earth and Venus flyby, and 3 very close to Mercury.
bluegrassgazer":10emvnmj said:
That's not entirely true. Close encounters between planets can change orbits enough to either send one or both into the sun, or out of the solar system. See the thread in Space Science and Astronomy about relativity and evolution of the solar system. I'll insert a link here in a little while when I catch up this morning.
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