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Theia (/ ˈ θ iː ə /) is a hypothesized ancient planet in the early Solar System which, according to the giant-impact hypothesis, collided with the early Earth around 4.5 billion years ago, with some of the resulting ejected debris coalescing to form the Moon.
Astronomers think the collision between Earth and Theia happened at about 4.4 to 4.45 billion years ago ; about 0.1 billion years after the Solar System began to form. [15] [16] In astronomical terms, the impact would have been of moderate velocity. Theia is thought to have struck Earth at an oblique angle when Earth was nearly fully formed.
Theia's mythological role as the mother of the Moon goddess Selene is alluded to in the application of the name to a hypothetical planet that, according to the giant impact hypothesis, collided with the Earth and created the Moon, paralleling the mythological Theia's role as the mother of Selene. [17]
Theia, an ancient planet, collided with Earth to form the moon, scientists believe. A new study suggests Theia could have also formed mysterious blobs called large low-velocity provinces, or LLVPs.
4.5 billion years ago, Earth experienced a cataclysmic rendezvous with a planet named Theia. Evidence of the impact is still buried deep within the Earth.
An Earth analog, also called an Earth twin or second Earth, is a planet or moon with environmental conditions similar to those found on Earth. The term Earth-like planet is also used, but this term may refer to any terrestrial planet. The possibility is of particular interest to astrobiologists and astronomers under reasoning that the more ...
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A hypothetical planet-sized Earth trojan the size of Mars, given the name Theia, is thought by proponents of the giant-impact hypothesis to be the origin of the Moon.The hypothesis states that the Moon formed after Earth and Theia collided, [10] showering material from the two planets into space.