Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Creation of the Moon 
Name: alan w davis
Status: N/A
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 1993 - 1999
Question:
The formation of the moon has always been puzzling What is the most current, most widely accepted of the theories on how the moon was created? 1-Capture Hypothesis 2-Fission Hypothesis 3-Double Planet Hypothesis 4-Giant Impact Hypothesis?

Replies:
According to an article in the July issue of Scientific American, the currently most-widely accepted hypothesis is the Giant Impact hypothesis. This article says that the Moon was formed as the result of the collision of a Mars-sized object with the Earth.

RC Winther


Click here to return to the Astronomy Archives

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory
n b