"Space scientists are largely agreed that about 4.5 billion years ago, Earth, then a hot ball of molten iron and other elements, was hit by another Mars-sized protoplanet. This hypothetical world is called Theia, named for a titaness of Greek mythology. Theia was completely destroyed by this impact, but likely lives on beneath our feet, as fragments from this doomed world fused with the early Earth."
"But while researchers are in broad agreement that this is how the Earth's earliest history in the solar system played out, many other questions remain unresolved such as where Theia came from. New research published in the journal Science suggests this protoplanet was actually a close neighbor of the early Earth, and formed somewhere between our home world and the sun."
"The findings from a study led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) come from a detailed analysis of the elemental makeup of the Earth, our moon and nearby meteorites. It found that the elemental isotopes are practically indistinguishable between the Earth and the moon. Isotopes are chemical element "species" that have the same number of protons in their nucleus, but vary in the number of neutrons, resulting in variations with differing weights and properties."
About 4.5 billion years ago, a Mars-sized protoplanet called Theia collided with the molten early Earth, shattering both bodies and sending hot rock into space. Fragments from Theia fused with Earth and contributed to the material that became the Moon. Elemental isotopes of Earth and the Moon are nearly indistinguishable, implying a common origin or thorough mixing during the impact. Isotopes are species of chemical elements with the same proton number but differing neutron counts, producing different weights and properties, as illustrated by hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium. New isotopic analysis indicates Theia likely formed between Earth and the Sun as a close neighbor.
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