Computational simulation of the impact between a proto-Earth and the small planet Theia. Image courtesy of Jacob Kegerreis/NASA Ames And Durham University/Institute For Computational Cosmology/Swift/Dirac
Joel Kontinen
In
evolutionary theory a very small planed called Theia collided into a proto Earth.
According to the same theory, it formed
the Moon and materials from it formed the Earth.
There is no
solid evidence that the planet even existed.
Hopp et
al. measured iron isotopes in lunar samples, Earth samples, and
meteorites. They then combined these results with previous measurements of
other elements with different geochemical behaviours. By simultaneously
calculating the contributions of Theia material to each of those elements in
both bodies, the authors concluded that Theia formed in the inner Solar System,
nearby to Earth but possibly slightly closer to the Sun.
Source:
Keith T.
Smith 2025
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