New Theory on the Formation of the Moon
Astronomers have long believed that the Moon formed when a celestial body of Mars struck Earth 4.5 billion years ago. New Theory on the Formation of the Moon
“The prevailing model is, roughly half the material that formed the Moon came from Mars for a mashing thing,” says Junjun Zhang, an expert in isotope geochemistry from the University of Chicago.
However, based on the latest findings of Zhang is done by analyzing the isotopes of titanium, the Moon-forming material, is dominated by material in the Earth.
“The moon has a titanium composition is identical to the Earth,” Zhang said as quoted by the New York Times, Monday (04/02/2012). New Theory on the Formation of the Moon
To obtain these results, Zhang and colleagues analyzed samples of Moon rocks that made the Apollo missions in the 1960s and the 1970s. Researchers compared samples of titanium isotope ratios in rocks and Earth’s Moon.
The study also found that the meteorite has a range of wider titanium isotopes.
“It shows us that the celestial body that does not seem to hit the Earth has a composition similar to Earth,” said Zhang.
“Thus, the model of the collision of the current may need to be re-examined,” added Zhang.
Zhang’s study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience on March 25, 2012 and it has not been able to decipher the history of the formation of the Moon with certainty. However, Zhang said, the study showed that the homogeneity of titanium isotopes play an important role in the evolution of the Moon and Earth. New Theory on the Formation of the Moon