Unlocking the mystery of the Moon’s formation

We're using supercomputer simulations to see how the Moon might have formed following a huge collision involving the early Earth 4.5 billion years ago. Durham is home to some of the world's leading space scientists and most powerful supercomputer technology. Our astronomers have used this combined knowledge and tech to investigate how the Moon might have been created. Solar system In their computer simulations, they crashed a Mars-sized ancient planet called Theia - which is believed to have existed in our solar system - into the early Earth. They got different outcomes depending upon the size and direction of the spin given to Theia, including no spin at all. At one extreme, the collision merged the two objects together while at the other there was a grazing hit-and-run impact. Importantly, when no spin was added to Theia the collision produced a self-gravitating clump of material with a mass of about 80 per cent of the Moon.