The leading theory for lunar origin is the giant impact 9,10, which explains the Moon’s large relative size and small iron core. Here we refer to the giant-impact theory in which the Earth–Moon ...

A new hypothesis offers a resolution rooted in a process more normally associated with Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io: tidal ...

Heat radiating from the young Earth could help solve the more than 50-year-old mystery of why the far side of the moon, which faces away from Earth, lacks the dark, vast expanses of volcanic rock that ...

The near and far sides of the Moon exhibit significant hemispheric differences, with the farside possessing fewer large craters compared to the mare on the nearside. A 2-3% mass asymmetry between ...

The shape of the moon deviates from a simple sphere in ways that scientists have struggled to explain. A new study by researchers at UC Santa Cruz shows that most of the moon's overall shape can be ...

Earth's powerful gravity tugged the moon into its oddball shape long ago, shortly after both bodies formed, a new study suggests. Tidal forces exerted during the early days of the solar system can ...

An almost-full, half-pie, waxing moon hanging lopsided in the night sky has long been a symbol of things to come. Now scientists have a new symbolism for the lunar phase we call first quarter: a ...

The shape of the moon deviates from a simple sphere in ways that scientists have struggled to explain. A new study by researchers at UC Santa Cruz shows that most of the moon’s overall shape can be ...