[Rockhounds] Scientists propose shocking new theory for origin of the Moon

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

For nearly 40 years, scientists have generally agreed that Earth’s Moon
formed from debris after a Mars-sized object slammed into our young planet.
However, new research suggests a different possibility: our Moon may have
been captured from space, originally paired with another rocky object
before Earth’s gravity pulled it into orbit.

This new theory helps address some puzzling aspects of the Moon’s orbit
that are difficult to explain with the traditional collision theory.
Moreover, the traditional belief doesn’t account for certain chemical
signatures found in Moon rocks brought back by Apollo astronauts.

The study, published in *The Planetary Science Journal
<https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ad5a9a>* by Penn State
researchers Darren Williams and Michael Zugger, demonstrates that Earth
could have acquired its Moon
<https://studyfinds.org/surprising-layer-inside-moon/> through a process
called *binary-exchange capture* – the same mechanism thought to explain
how Neptune captured its largest moon, Triton.

“The Moon is more in line with the sun than it is with the Earth’s
equator,” Williams explains in a media release.

This observation doesn’t align well with the collision theory
<https://studyfinds.org/moon-shrinking-moonquakes/>, which suggests the
Moon should orbit above Earth’s equator. The process of binary-exchange
capture occurs when a planet encounters two objects orbiting each other.
During this cosmic encounter, the planet’s gravity can separate the pair,
capturing one object as a satellite while ejecting the other into space.


https://studyfinds.org/new-theory-origin-of-moon/