The Tale of Earth and it’s sister Theia

Have you found it weird that the earth’s axis is tilted by 23.5 degrees and wondered what led to this? Wait, Where did the moon come from?

Well, Here’s what scientists have theorized.

The Giant Impact Hypothesis

Theia, a mars sized planet collided ( it glanced and thankfully did not collide head on, else it would have destroyed earth ) with the Earth around 4.553 billion years ago.

Theia’s debris gathered together around Earth to form what we now call- The Moon.

The collision between the early earth and Theia was so immense that it tilted the axis of rotation of the early earth by 23.5 degrees.

And it remains tilted so that way even today!!

Why do they believe in this hypothesis ?

Scientists have a very good reason to believe in the Giant Impact Hypothesis:

• Earth’s spin and the Moon’s orbit have similar orientations.
• Moon samples indicate that the Moon once had a molten surface.
• The Moon has a relatively small iron core.
• The Moon has a lower density than Earth.
• Evidence exists of similar collisions in other star systems (that result in debris disks).
• Giant collisions are consistent with the leading theories of the formation of the solar system.
• The stable-isotope ratios of lunar and terrestrial rock are identical, implying a common origin