A new theory put forward by Harvard scientists suggests the Moon was once part of the Earth that spun off after a giant collision with another body.
In a paper published on Wednesday in the journal Science, Sarah Stewart and Matija uk said their theory would explain why the Earth and Moon have similar composition and chemistry.
With the Earth spinning so quickly, a giant impact could have launched enough of the Earth’s material to form a moon, the scientists said.
According to the new theory, the Earth later reached its current rate of spinning through gravitational interaction between its orbit around the Sun and the Moon’s orbit around Earth.
The scientists noted that their proposition differed from the current leading theory, which holds that the Moon was created from material from a giant body that struck the Earth.