This is an image of the Moon showing various minerals found on the surface.
Click on image for full size
Evidence about the Formation of the Moon
Any successful theory must account for everything we know about the
Moon now. Those things include
- the moon seems to be made of the same material as the Earth's upper mantle.
- the Moon has little or no iron in it, and is composed of material unlike the composition of the Earth as a whole.
- the moon is rounded in shape, like the other planets and not like an asteriod or comet
- the moon orbits in the same direction as the Earth
- the Moon is located in the same plane as the Earth (the ecliptic plane)
- theory suggests that the Moon seems to have drifted away from the Earth over the length of geologic history.
- this means that the Moon was once much closer to the Earth
- this means that the Moon was once bigger in the sky and much brighter than at present
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