American scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz, presented materials from the study of the "theory of two moons", which should be confirmed or refuted, using the NASA space mission called GRAIL. Research of probes GRAIL will be able to shed light on the mystery of the moon.
The authors of the study, Martin Jutsy and Eric Amsworg, put forward the theory that about 4 million years ago a space object crashed into the Earth, the size of which is commensurate with the volume of Mars. Scientists suggest that as a result of this collision, a cloud of debris was formed around the Earth, from which two moons were formed, with the smaller one being positioned to follow the larger moon. It is noted that basically such "moons" reunite soon after formation, but in this case one of the moons fell into the gravitational "trap" of one of the Lagrange points. After some time, the smaller moon escaped from gravitational captivity and collided with its older sister at low speed.
It is assumed that the impact site is the side of the moon, on which the plateaus are located, and the lunar highlands are the remnants of the vanished moon. The probes of the GRAIL mission, which were launched into space back in 2011, are helping to unravel the "theory of two moons." The main goal of the mission is that two probes, which in pair will revolve around the satellite of our planet, will help scientists map the lunar gravitational field, thereby revealing its internal structure.
Potter Olesya
