Giant Impact: The Leading Scenario of the Origin of the Moon

Abstract

Moon, an astronomical body hanging in the sky, has been recorded and studied by mankind for thousands of years, even before the invention of the word “moon”. There are numerous varying theories about its origin. The aim of this article is to compare and further analyze the common theories of the origin of Moon. First, we provide basic information about the moon, the moon’s soil, and the basic elements of the moon and offer an introduction to solar and lunar eclipses and why they exist, as well as human efforts to explore the moon, including the Apollo program and the Chang’E program. Finally, we analyze and compare the four most common theories about the origin of the Moon: the split theory, homologation theory, capture theory and impact theory. Among all, the more accepted theory is the big collision theory though there is still no scientific basis for it. This article introduces the origins of the Moon by analyzing the pros and cons and describing possible future directions.