How the Moon was made

1 Theia approaches the proto-Earth

A Mars-sized object entered an unalterable collision course with the early Earth, forming the Moon that we see today.

2 Earth takes a big hit

The impactor hit Earth in a head-on collision, vaporising both Theia and Earth’s mantle as it struck.

3 Material gets thrown out

The vaporised material from both bodies mixed and was thrown outwards by the huge impact.

4 Debris begins to gather

Smaller objects began to condense out of the vapour while continuing to orbit around Earth.

5 The Moon takes shape

Many of the smaller objects stuck together to form a protoMoon in orbit around Earth.

6 Our companion is formed

Eventually all the pieces came together to form the basis of the Moon we see today.