New Theory Challenges Popular Moon Origin Belief

A new theory proposed by researchers from Penn State University challenges the long-held belief that the Moon was formed from a collision between Earth and a protoplanet named Theia. Instead, the study suggests the Moon may have been captured by Earth through a process called binary-exchange capture, where it was part of a pair of rocky bodies orbiting each other. This theory could explain the Moon's tilted orbit and its chemical similarities to Earth, offering an alternative to the traditional collision theory.