For centuries after centuries, it’s been thought that the Earth and Moon were born at the same time. But now scientists believe that Moon was born 100 million years later than the Earth!
For long, scientists have assumed that the Moon was formed when a Mars-sized body smashed into the Earth, reducing part of our planet to liquid rock and shooting debris into orbit that slowly cooled and coalesced into the Moon. Later scientists discovered that the Moon’s crust or regolith have placed its birth 4.56 billion years ago. But lately, at the Royal Society special meeting, planetary scientist Rick Carlson announced that the Moon is a few hundred million years younger than we thought. Carlson reported that new methods for dating rocks from the Moon’s crust or regolith have placed its birth between 4.4 and 4.45 billion years ago.
In a release about Carlson’s work, the Royal Society explains that the Earth was likely formed from many such smashups before the Moon came along. Like all the planets, the Earth was born in a swirling disc of dust and gas enveloping our young Sun. Then, a few hundred million years later, one big rock smashed into the already-formed Earth, melted it a little, and then formed the Moon.
However, here’s video for you where you could see the evolution of the Moon.
Source: io9
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