Computer simulations suggest Moon may have formed intact hours after giant collision

The short version

• Researchers modeled an impact from roughly 4.5 billion years ago, discovering that accounting for material strength can produce an intact Moon in approximately five hours.[ScienceDaily]
• The results challenge older assumptions that colliding planetary bodies could simply be treated as fluids.[ScienceDaily]
• The findings do not explain why Earth and the Moon share remarkably similar chemical compositions.[ScienceDaily]

Key facts

• Simulations by researchers at the Southwest Research Institute and the University of Arizona show the Moon may have formed intact in about five hours after a collision roughly 4.5 billion years ago.[ScienceDaily]
• The research incorporates physical strength and temperature, showing that hotter bodies are mechanically weaker and behave differently from colder ones.[ScienceDaily]
• Past models frequently approximated Earth and the impacting body as fluids under the assumption that the collision was violent enough to melt or vaporize large portions.[ScienceDaily]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• The Moon may have formed intact just hours after a giant collisionScienceDaily - Science