Origin of the Moon-The Collision Hypothesis

By the impact or collision hypothesis, the author means any theory that seeks to derive the Moon-forming material from the outcome of one or more collisions between the Earth and other Sun-orbiting bodies. The impacting body or bodies must be large - larger than the Moon and perhaps even larger than Mars. This definition does not assume that the formation of the Moon was necessarily a singular event. Among proponents of the collision hypothesis, there are those who think that a single event overwhelmingly dominated and those who think that a few (or even many) impact events were needed. There are even versions of the collision hypothesis that are not very different from extreme versions of one of the alternative origin scenarios of capture, fission, and binary accretion! This review proceeds by advancing 10 propositions that the author believes embody the most important issues confronting the theory. These propositions may or may not be true, but they form a framework for asking the right questions.