Moon might have formed in mere hours, shows most detailed simulation created by NASA

origin of Moon is still a puzzle for astromers as y have found concrete evidence about how exactly its formation occurred. According to existing ories, a Mars-sized object named ia collided with Earth and resulting debris coalesced into Moon over months or years.

However, a simulation of event created using NASA’s supercomputer has shown that Moon might have formed in a matter of just a few hours after matter resulting from impact was released directly into Earth’s orbit.

NASA shares most detailed simulation ever

US ncy says that simulation created for this research are some of most detailed of ir kind, operating at highest resolution of any simulation run to study planetary impacts. Scientists went for high resolution because unlike lower-resolution simulations, y do t miss out on important aspects of such collisions and allow m to see new behaviors emerge.

"This opens up a whole new range of possible starting places for Moon’s evolution,” said Jacob Kegerreis, a postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center and le author of research published in Astrophysical Journal Letters. "On top of big eye-opener that standard resolutions can give you misleing answers, it was extra exciting that new results could include a tantalisingly Moon-like satellite in orbit."

Scientists believe that  simulation opens up new possibilities for Moon's evolution and will help m understand intertwined history of Earth and Moon. Vincent Eke, a researcher at Durham University and a co-author says that learning more about origin of Moon could uncover new clues about evolution of our own planet. Analysis of lunar samples brought to Earth has revealed that Moon has very similar isotopic signatures to rocks from Earth than those from Mars or anywhere else, and this supports ory of Moon emerging from our planet. 

NASA w has a new ory that, it says, offers a cleaner and more elegant explanation for issues with or ories. It also believes that analysis of future lunar samples brought back to Earth would confirm more about how Moon exactly formed.