Supercomputer simulation re-enacts the birth of the Moon
Spinning the story a bit…
Researchers at Durham University developed supercomputer simulations, showing how thisancient collisionmay have unfolded.
The velocity of Theia and the angle of impact affected the collision, as did the rotational rate of the body. The team of investigators examined a wide range of possible conditions, ranging from no spin to a quick rotation, and from glancing blows to more direct impacts.
Interestingly, when simulations tested the effect of a non-spinning version of Theia, the impact resulted in a satellite with roughly 80 percent of the mass of theMoon. Adding just a small amount of spin resulted in a second Moon in orbit around Earth.
Some of the impacts studied resulted in merging of the early Earth and Theia, while others showed just a glancing blow between the bodies.
“Among the resulting debris disc in some impacts, we find a self-gravitating clump of material. It is roughly the mass of the Moon, contains [about one percent] iron like the Moon… The clump contains mainly impactor material near its core but becomes increasingly enriched in proto-Earth material near its surface,” researchers describe in an article describing the study, published inMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
As the young proto-Moon settled into orbit around the Earth, the young body likely grew by collecting debris from the space around our homeworld. This body was seen developing a small iron core, surrounded by material from both Theia and the early Earth, similar to what we see on theMoon.
“It’s exciting that some of our simulations produced this orbiting clump of material that is relatively not much smaller than the Moon, with a disc of additional material around the post-impact Earth that would help the clump grow in mass over time… I wouldn’t say that this is the Moon, but it’s certainly a very interesting place to continue looking,” Dr.Sergio Ruiz-Bonillain the Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University, said.
Researchers will continue refining models, examining how mass, velocity, spin, and other factors could affect the impact that formed theMoon.
Story byThe Cosmic Companion
Exploring the wonders of the Cosmos, one mystery at a time.Exploring the wonders of the Cosmos, one mystery at a time.
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