How Did the Moon Rocks Teach us about the Earth?
“Rocks are history books,” says Dr. Prinz. “There is recorded information in there. You just have to learn how to get it out.” There is so much to learn from these rocks that scientists have been continually studying them for 30 years. Before the Apollo missions to the moon there were quite a few theories about how the moon formed. After studying the moon rocks and finding what ways they are similar to and what ways they are different from earth’s rocks, a new theory stands out. This theory says that since the moon and the earth are very closely related, the moon must in some way have formed from the earth. Around four and a half billion years ago when the earth was forming, a huge planetary chunk of material about the size of Mars hit the earth. This caused an enormous explosion. Part of the material which blew off formed the moon.
“Rocks are history books,” says Dr. Prinz. “There is recorded information in there. You just have to learn how to get it out.” There is so much to learn from these rocks that scientists have been continually studying them for decades. Before the Apollo missions to the moon there were quite a few theories about how the moon formed. After studying the moon rocks and finding what ways they are similar to and what ways they are different from earth’s rocks, a new theory stands out. This theory says that since the moon and the earth are very closely related, the moon must in some way have formed from the earth. Around four and a half billion years ago when the earth was forming, a huge planetary chunk of material about the size of Mars hit the earth. This caused an enormous explosion. Part of the material which blew off formed the moon.
