"During the early solar system's game of cosmic billiards, Earth was struck by a neighbor,” said Dauphas. “It was a lucky shot. Without the moon's steadying influence on our planet's tilt, the climate ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. New model suggests an ocean of magma formed within the first few hundred million years of Earth's ...

Satellite image of Earth displayed the North American continent (top) and the South American continent (bottom). (Pixabay via Courthouse News) (CN) — Like making a cake, dry materials came before ...

The formation of a sixth ocean, and the tectonic shifts that lie ahead, are proof that Earth is a dynamic, ever-evolving ...

There are several theories about how the Earth and the Moon were formed, most involving a giant impact. They vary from a model where the impacting object strikes the newly formed Earth a glancing blow ...

Earth may have a moon today because a nearby neighbor once crashed into us, a new analysis of Apollo samples and terrestrial ...

Apollo samples provide evidence: Researchers analyzed Moon rocks brought back by the Apollo missions and, for the first time, ...

In the current issue of the journal Science, researchers determine the possible composition of Theia. The impactor’s composition allows conclusions about its place of origin. It is located in the ...

It’s one of the most enduring ideas about the formation of our solar system: Earth collided with a Mars-sized object, Theia, ...

Helium-3, a rare isotope of helium gas, is leaking out of Earth’s core, a new study reports. Because almost all helium-3 is from the Big Bang, the gas leak adds evidence that Earth formed inside a ...

Water has made the Earth the planet that it is—a planet known for its blue oceans. Water shapes the land through erosion and is fundamental to Earth’s ability to support life. But we have a hard time ...

Gold and other precious metals are leaking from Earth’s core into the layers above, eventually making their way up to the surface during the formation of volcanic islands like Hawaii, a new study ...