Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Ephemeris for Friday, February 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 1 minute, setting at 6:26, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:23. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:59 tomorrow morning.

The origin of the Moon is a question that has vexed astronomers for years. Did it break off the molten Earth like a cell dividing? Was it captured by passing too close to the Earth? Neither is satisfactory. Chemical elements have different isotopes depending on the number of neutrons in their nucleus. The rocks brought back by the Apollo astronauts show that the isotopes of the elements in the rocks are the same as for the Earth. We know that Mars and the asteroids have different isotope ratios. The hypothesis that seems most likely is that another planet, the size of Mars collided with the 100 million-year-old Earth in a glancing blow that gave rise to a disk of material that eventually coalesced to form the Moon.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

A progression of how the Moon may have formed by a small protoplanet crashed into the Earth. Credit: Brian Koberlein.