I amHe could have easily turned differently. About 4.5 billion years ago, Earth is thought to have collided with another planet, Theia, which led to the formation of the moon. A lightning strike may cause a “hit and run” and a land devoid of the moon; While more direct collisions may have destroyed much of the Earth’s mantle, not leaving the atmosphere. Instead, it appears to have been something in between, destroying 10-60% of Earth’s atmosphere, but also leaving us with the moon.

He used Jacob Cegres, of the University of Durham, and colleagues A supercomputer to explore potential outcomes When two rocky planets collide with each other. From slow, high-angle impacts to high-speed collisions, scientists have simulated over 300 different types of collisions. Their findings, published on The Astrophysical Journal Letters, It turns out that there is a wide range of impact scenarios that would have formed the moon, from a Mars-sized planet with a grazing (45 °) and relatively slow collision with early Earth, to a faster and more direct collision between two planets of more equal mass.

“Hopefully this will help us understand the history of Earth’s atmosphere and narrow the different ways the moon might have been,” says Kegerreis.