Short. As a result of a planetary cataclysm 16 million years ago, the asteroid Ceres struck the planet Phaethon, then in orbit between Jupiter and Mars. As a result, the asteroid belt was formed, the core of Phaeton with the upper layers of the mantle flew off into a new orbit between the Earth and Mars. Ceres did something further by capturing the ocean from the surface of Mars, which we observe as a 100 km crust of ice on its surface today. We all know what red Mars looks like without water.
Subsequently, 12 thousand years ago, the core of Phaeton with a frozen mantle was captured by the Earth's gravitational field from the circumsolar field to the Earth's orbit. This is how today's Moon appeared.
Consider some worthy discussions.
1. Bone tablets dated about 35 thousand years ago, found in Europe supposedly with the phases of the moon. They show the phases of a celestial body close to the Earth.
Drawing of the found bone tablets with the phases of the cosmic body.
Today's lunar calendar is known to consist of 29 days. The phases of the moon are most visible in the sky and many civilizations, peoples have previously used this for their calendars.
The deciphering of the found bone tablets showed that they are not accurate to the modern monthly phases of the moon and are more related to annual changes associated with the seasons.
The Moon then revolved in an independent orbit around the Sun between the Earth and Mars, close to the Earth and was observed from the Earth during the year in these phases.
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For comparison, the observed annual phases of Mars are similar to * spirals * in the tablets.
The tablets confirm the presence of the Moon in the sky, but revolving according to the lunar year, that is, the rotation of the then Moon around the Sun, like the Earth with an annual cycle
2. At what distance from the Sun was the Moon's orbit for a period of 16 million years - 12 thousand years ago. The moon, the core of Phaeton with a frozen and polished mantle, was then “thrown back” practically into the orbit of the Earth, located at a distance of about 150 million km from the Sun, like the Earth. Orbital resonance with the Sun of the Earth and the Moon, a sample about 12 thousand years ago, 1: 1 - that is, one revolution of the Earth occurred in almost one revolution of the Moon. This "almost" allowed them to approach each other, and then the capture of the Moon took place due to the strongest gravitational field of the Earth. Between the planets, the spin-orbital resonance equal to 1: 1 is preserved, expressed in the fact that the Moon is turned to the Earth on one side. It is important that the Moon rotates with the Earth in the same plane of the ecliptic, like a previously full-fledged planet
3. How the Moon was observed from the Earth in the period of 16 million years - 12 thousand years ago. Very simple, with the naked eye. Venus has an apparent magnitude of -4.6m, and the moon of today, orbiting the Earth, has an apparent magnitude of -12.7m at full moon. The Moon of the time, revolving around the Sun and therefore variable with distance and approach, about -7m
Albedo is a characteristic of the reflectivity of a planet for visibility. Albedo is increased for planets with atmosphere. When observing the Moon today and then, these increases in albedo from atmospheric phenomena do not play a large role, when a nearby space body reflects the sun's rays well and is perfectly visible in the sky.
Example - look at the
4. Why exactly 16 million years ago there was a catastrophe, and not 160 million, 1,600 million, and so on? The mass of all cosmic bodies in the asteroid belt is about 4% of the mass of the Moon. They "took away" the crust and upper layers of the mantle from our companion. The belt is dispersed in orbit between Mars and Jupiter. The space bodies of the belt are quite well studied, their main number 75% are asteroids of class C. This group is distinguished by stone chondrites without hydrogen and helium, carbon type with minerals. There are practically no chondrules in them, olivine and pyroxene are mixed with the water component. These are the remains of the planet's crust and upper mantle, about 16 million years old.
Spectral studies of the lunar soil in January 2019 by the Chinese apparatus "Yuytu-2" also speak in confirmation.
Rover * Yuytu-2 * goes to travel on the Moon. 2019 year.
Olivines and pyroxenes were found in the studied soil of the Moon, corresponding to the investigated probes in the asteroid belt, as well as meteorites that fell from the belt to the Earth. The "fur coat" of our Moon was found there.
We leave for the moon. China Mission * Chang'e-4 * in 2019.