Most theories claim the Moon formed out of the debris of a collision between the Earth and an object about the size of Mars, called Theia, coalescing in orbit over months or years. A new simulation ...

Astronomers have taken a step towards understanding how the Moon might have formed out of a giant collision between the early Earth and another massive object 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists led by ...

Charlie has an undergraduate degree in Forensic Psychology and writes on topics from zoology and psychology to herpetology. Charlie has an undergraduate degree in Forensic Psychology and writes on ...

Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces from Imperial College London. Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum Fields and ...

Scientists think a planet may have crashed into Earth 4.5 billion years ago, creating the moon. This alien planet, Theia, was thought to have completely disappeared in the collision. A new study ...

How did Earth, alone among the solar system's rocky planets, become the home for life? How, among all this frigid lifelessness, did our planet become warm, hospitable, and life-sustaining? The answer ...

The big picture: Theia is a hypothetical ancient planet that orbited the Sun during the formation of the solar system. According to the giant-impact hypothesis, this protoplanet collided with Earth ...

Billions of years ago, a version of our Earth that looks very different than the one we live on today was hit by an object about the size of Mars, called Theia – and out of that collision the Moon was ...