The timing of this collision event is estimated to have occurred around 4.5 billion years ago, shortly after the formation of the Earth and the Solar System. The high-temperature conditions during the impact and the subsequent accretion of the Moon would have led to the depletion of volatile elements and the preferential retention of refractory elements in the lunar composition.

Question

The timing of this collision event is estimated to have occurred around 4.5 billion years ago, shortly after the formation of the Earth and the Solar System. The high-temperature conditions during the impact and the subsequent accretion of the Moon would have led to the depletion of volatile elements and the preferential retention of refractory elements in the lunar composition.

This hypothesis of a giant impact origin for the Moon is widely accepted and supported by various lines of evidence, including the similar oxygen isotopic compositions of the Earth and the Moon, the angular momentum of the Earth-Moon system, and the geochemical and geophysical characteristics of the Moon
in one sentence each respectively.

Answer 1

- The similar oxygen isotopic compositions of the Earth and the Moon suggest a common origin from a giant impact event.

- The angular momentum of the Earth-Moon system is consistent with the idea of a significant collision shaping the formation of the Moon.
- The geochemical and geophysical characteristics of the Moon align with expectations from a giant impact scenario.