The formation of the moon remains a mystery, but a new study may provide answers. The moon was formed when a small planet called Theia collided with the young Earth and broke a piece out of it.
The resulting debris bonded, cooled, and solidified, forming the moon. But how did the moon evolve into the celestial body we know today? There are different views on these questions in the research community. The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, argues that the moon formed quickly and hot and was therefore likely covered by a magma ocean. This molten rock cooled and solidified, creating the lunar mantle and the bright crust we see in the sky during a full moon. However, there is little physical evidence for the exact order of these events, so there is disagreement about the details.