Moon's Birth May Have Vaporized Most of Earth, Study Shows

The massive collision that created the moon may have vaporized most of the early Earth, according to a new analysis of samples collected during the Apollo moon missions. In the early days of planet formation, a grazing collision between the newborn Earth and a Mars-size rock named Theia (named after the mother of the moon in Greek myth) may have led to the birth of the moon, according to a prevailing hypothesis. This "giant-impact hypothesis" seemed to explain many details about Earth and the mo