We may have had two Moons

[DavidU]

The Moon's highlands, long a mystery, may have been thrown up billions of years ago by a slow-motion collision with a smaller companion moon knocked off its orbit, a new study says.I wonder what Carl thinks of this......



http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/9971924/moons-mountains-made-by-slo-mo-crash/

[Zaps]

Sagan?

[DavidU]

Our Carl, Renormalised.

[ZeroID]

Could have been fun to have two moons. Tidal effects would have been interesting to say the least, might have loused up the fishing though.

On a more serious note it makes going back to the moon seem a lot more valuable though.

[Ric]

An interesting theory, it will be intriguing to see the data when it comes through from the Orbitor.

[renormalised]

Well, he'd now say...."Since I have been dead for 15 years and have traveled extensively through time since then, I can assure all of you that it is.....". When he gets cut off by a passing comet:):P

[renormalised]

It's a possibility....given that the collision of such a body would be relatively slow compared to their orbital velocities, it would look very much like their simulation. Just a big splodge of material across the surface of the Moon instead of a great bang and guff getting blasted all over the place. If it happened that way (a hard hit), you'd get a scenario more like what they see on Mars, where a giant impact may have created the dichotomy between the Nth and Sth Hemispheres of the planet.

The may find some evidence when the LRO gets there and starts mapping, but to really figure it out, they'll have to go there and get their hands dirty. Collect samples and study what they collect.