. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY . Where DID the moon come from?

This cosmic conundrum has baffled many scientist for many years. To say the least, it wasn't a very peaceful affair. The magic all began one steamy hot day, about 4.5 billion years ago. Love was in the air. Also, there was a object roughly the size of mars that was hurdling toward our planet at a relaxing 15 km per second. When they collided, sparks and much debrish flew. The two making one, for a moment, and then, like many hollywood couples, divorced just as quickly. Two discs coalesced (ooo, big word, just click and find out what it means, don't be embaressed :P) from the debris of the impact, one became our beloved hood, called earth, and the other became the pretty ball of cheese in the sky. Well, that's how the story goes according to these guys. So, next time you look up at the sky and wonder: "Is the moon made of cheese?" go visit another site. If you wonder where did it come from, well now you know!

(Thanks Maggie McKee, from New Scientist Space for the cool article!)

Some frames from the computer simulation that modeled the story, shown in the article.