"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-11-06T15:08:45Z"
data-video-section="world"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/11/06/nasa-8k-resolution-iss-orig.cnn"
data-branding-key="race-to-space"
data-video-slug="nasa 8k resolution iss orig"
data-first-publish-slug="nasa 8k resolution iss orig"
data-video-tags="aviation and aerospace industry,business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,government organizations - us,nasa,space and astronomy,space exploration,space industry,space stations,spacecraft and satellites,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-10-23T17:11:17Z"
data-video-section="us"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2018/10/23/nasa-iop-ss-water-system-test-orig-vstan-bdk.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="NASA IOP SS Water System Test Orig Vstan BDK"
data-first-publish-slug="NASA IOP SS Water System Test Orig Vstan BDK"
data-video-tags="business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,energy and utilities,government organizations - us,nasa,space and astronomy,space exploration,space launches,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies,utilities industry,water and wastewater management"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-09-28T08:36:46Z"
data-video-section="world"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/09/28/japan-rover-asteroid-photos-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="japan rover asteroid photos vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="japan rover asteroid photos vpx"
data-video-tags="asia,asteroids and comets,celestial bodies and objects,continents and regions,east asia,japan,planets and moons,robots and robotics,space and astronomy,technology"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-07-28T16:39:24Z"
data-video-section="us"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2018/07/27/nasa-history-60-years-rf-orig.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="nasa history 60 years rf orig"
data-first-publish-slug="nasa history 60 years rf orig"
data-video-tags="celebrities,government organizations - us,nasa,neil armstrong,space and astronomy,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-08-12T07:53:13Z"
data-video-section="business"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/cnnmoney/2018/08/12/nasa-parker-solar-probe-launch-nr-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="nasa parker solar probe launch nr vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="nasa parker solar probe launch nr vpx"
data-video-tags="space and astronomy,space exploration,government organizations - us,nasa,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-04-20T15:00:53Z"
data-video-section="world"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/04/20/nasa-lagoon-nebula-new-images-lon-orig.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="nasa lagoon nebula new images lon orig"
data-first-publish-slug="nasa lagoon nebula new images lon orig"
data-video-tags="nasa,space and astronomy,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies,business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,computer science and information technology,software and applications,technology,virtual reality"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-07-27T20:39:58Z"
data-video-section="us"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2018/07/27/sun-has-sound-nasa-space-orig-video-trnd.cnn"
data-branding-key="race-to-space"
data-video-slug="sun has sound NASA space orig video trnd"
data-first-publish-slug="sun has sound NASA space orig video trnd"
data-video-tags="european space agency,government organizations - us,misc organizations,nasa,science,space and astronomy,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-04-12T14:40:09Z"
data-video-section="world"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/04/12/nasa-4k-moon-virtual-tour-bks-lon-orig.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="nasa 4k moon virtual tour bks lon orig"
data-first-publish-slug="nasa 4k moon virtual tour bks lon orig"
data-video-tags="business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,computer science and information technology,software and applications,technology,virtual reality,aviation and aerospace industry,celestial bodies and objects,earth's moon,planets and moons,space and astronomy,space industry,spacecraft and satellites"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2016-09-30T01:16:39Z"
data-video-section="weather"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/weather/2016/09/29/what-is-a-black-moon-orig-jpm.cnn"
data-branding-key="space-next-chapter"
data-video-slug="what is a black moon orig jpm"
data-first-publish-slug="what is a black moon orig jpm"
data-video-tags="celestial bodies and objects,earth's moon,planets and moons,space and astronomy,earth sciences,jennifer gray,meteorology,misc people,science"
data-details="">
Researchers think a head-on collision with another planet created our moon
Moon rocks gathered by the Apollo astronauts were used in the study
CNN
—
It’s the only world besides Earth that man has set foot on. But we still don’t know exactly how it got there.
Now, rocks brought back by the Apollo astronauts in the late ’60s and early ‘70s are providing new clues about how Earth got its moon.
Many scientists have long theorized that the moon formed after a planet called Theia crashed into Earth about 4.5 billion years ago.
This photograph of the full moon was taken from the Apollo 11 spacecraft as the crew headed home in July 1969. On board was Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, and astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.
NASA
A UCLA-led research team compared Earth rocks and moon rocks and determined the crash was a head-on collision, not a glancing blow as earlier theories stated.
“The moon was formed by a violent, head-on collision between the early Earth and a ‘planetary embryo’ called Theia approximately 100 million years after the Earth formed,” the team said in on UCLA’s website.
The researchers analyzed seven moon rocks brought back to the Earth by the Apollo 12, 15 and 17 astronauts. They compared them with six volcanic rocks from Earth, five from Hawaii and one from Arizona.
They found the oxygen in all the rocks had a similar chemical signature.
“We don’t see any difference between the Earth’s and the moon’s oxygen isotopes; they’re indistinguishable,” said Edward Young, the study’s lead author.
Young said that if Earth had only received a glancing blow, most of the moon would have been made up of Theia, and the Earth and moon rocks would not be so similar.
So what happened to Theia? Scientists say it didn’t survive the collision, except for some pieces that got mixed in with the Earth and moon. If it hadn’t crashed with Earth, it might have become a full-fledged planet, Young said.
But then Earth wouldn’t have a moon. That would mean no beautiful moonlit nights, fewer songs and much different weather for us Earthlings. The moon gets credit for moderating Earth’s wobble and stabilizing its climate.
