RE: Moon formation

From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Feb 12 2003 - 20:30:53 MST

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    --- Lee Corbin <lcorbin@tsoft.com> wrote:
    > Mike Lorrey writes
    >
    > > Keep in mind our atmosphere is so thin because
    > > of billions of years of carbon sequestration that
    > > followed an impact event that stripped much of
    > > earth's original lithosphere, which now forms
    > > most of the moon.
    > > > I'd like to know more about this...where might I look?
    > >
    > > Martyn Fogg's text "Terraforming Planetary
    > > Environments", which you can find at Amazon.
    >
    > Well, perhaps you could just answer this for several
    > of us. Isn't this the sequence of events you're
    > suggesting?
    >
    > (1) Earth and moon coalesce as separate astronomical bodies
    > but with the moon's composition similar to the Earth's

    Most planetesimals of the early solar system were of similar
    composition.

    > (2) Some massive impact event on Earth stripped away much
    > of Earth's original lithosphere---picture is found at
    >
    > http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/lithosphere.html

    Yes, and the ejected lithosphere coalesced around the planetesimal that
    struck the Earth, forming the Moon.

    > (3) the carbon sequestration (http://csite.esd.ornl.gov/) altered
    > the atmosphere and topsoil even more.

    Quite so, this is where ALL of the limestone that makes up a large part
    of the mass of the Continents comes from.

    =====
    Mike Lorrey
    "Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                                                         - Gen. John Stark
    "Pacifists are Objectively Pro-Fascist." - George Orwell
    "Treason doth never Prosper. What is the Reason?
    For if it Prosper, none Dare call it Treason..." - Ovid

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