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Asked by gingerscientist2005 to Hannah, Lucy, Phil, rochellevelho, Stephen on 8 Mar 2017.
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Phil Sutton answered on 8 Mar 2017:
Some quite clever simulations have shown that during the formation of all the planets in the solar system two young planets were on unstable orbits. Planets form from gravity creating clumps of material in a cloud of dust and gas orbiting young stars. As these young planets got bigger their orbits became unstable. These came close enough to have a significant impact which destroyed the smaller of the two (about mars size) and left a huge ring of material around the larger remaining planet. This ring of material wouldn’t have been that dissimilar to Saturn’s. Now over time the material in this started to clump together under gravity and formed the moon. This will account for the inclined angle the Earth spins at. But also when we analyse the rocks from both the Moon and the Earth they have a common origin.
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Lucy Kissick answered on 8 Mar 2017:
What Phil said — he’s the astrophysicist, I deal with planets once they’re nicely cooled and solid, thank you very much!
But my own answer would be: The world began existing when a cloud of interstellar dust started clumping together to form the Solar System. 99% of the dust grouped together to form the Sun, and the stuff left behind began clumping into smaller spheres. These became the planets: the Earth was one of them.
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Hannah Sargeant answered on 12 Mar 2017:
as bit of extra information, there is a popular idea that the Earth was very different before a planet the size of Mars collided with it! A big mess was made but it is thought that all the rocks formed back together and made the Earth and our Moon.
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