How the Moon Formed From a Synestia (IMAGE)

University of California - Davis

How the Moon Formed From a Synestia

Caption

This artist's rendering shows the hot, molten Moon emerging from a synestia, a giant spinning donut of vaporized rock that formed when planet-sized objects collided. The synestia is in the process of condensing to form the Earth. This new model for the Moon's origin answers outstanding questions about how the Moon's composition compares to that of Earth.

Credit

Image by Sarah Stewart/UC Davis based on NASA rendering.

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