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actually were such caverns."" The results of these _ inthe distant past. experiments have not been made public. Here theories diverge: one states that the Moon was It seems apparent that the Moon has a tough hard "originally a planet which collided with the Earth, outer shell and a light or nonexistent interior. The — creating debris which combined to form the Moon; and Moon's shell contains dense minerals such as titanium, another states that the Moon, while wandering through used on Earth in the construction of aircraft and space our solar system, was captured and pulled into orbit by vehicles. Many people still recall watching our the Earth's gravity. Neither of these theories is astronauts on TV as they vainly tried to drill through the —_ especially compelling because of the lack of evidence crust of a Moon maria: their specially designed drills that neither the Earth nor the Moon seems to have been could only penetrate a few inches. physically disrupted by a past close encounter. There is The puzzle of the Moon's hard surface was no debris in space indicating a past collision, and it compounded by the discovery of what appeared to be —_ does not appear that the Earth and the Moon developed processed metals. Experts were surprised to find lunar during the same time period. rocks bearing brass, mica and As for the "capture" theory, even amphibole in addition to near-pure scientist Isaac Asimov, well known for itanium. Uranium-236 and is works of fiction, wrote: "It's too neptunium-237—elements not big to have been captured by the previously found in nature—were If the precise and Earth. The chances of such a capture discovered in Moon rocks, according . . aving been effected and the Moon o the Argonne National Laboratory. stationary orbit hen having taken up nearly circular While still trying to explain the Q orbit around our Earth are too small presence of these materials, scientists of the Moon IS o make such an _ eventuality were further startled to learn of rust- seen aS sheer credible.""’ proof iron particles in a soil sample . ne eo Asimov was right to consider the rom the Sea of Crisis. In 1976, coincidence, Is It Moon's orbit: it is not only nearly a Associated Press re ported that the also coincidence perfect circle; ws sta pray one side Soviets had announce e discovery . always facing the Earth with only the of iron particles that "do not rust” in that the Moon IS slightest variation. As far as we know, samples brought back in 1970 by at just the right it's phe only natural satelite wi n an unmanne oon mission. such an orbit. This circular orbi Iron that does not rust is distance from is especially odd, considering pninown in natu and well MM the Earth to cover MM ‘=e Moons can of mas technology's ability to produce. the Sun completely the Earth than its geometric centre. This fact alone should produce an unstable, wobbly orbit, much as a ball with its mass off centre will not roll in a straight line. Additionally, almost a PS) Theories on the Moon's Origins during al eclipse? Undoubtedly the greatest mystery concerning our Moon is how it came to be there in the first place. Prior to the Apollo all of the other satellites in our missions, one serious theory as solar system orbit in the plane of to the Moon's origin was that it broke off the Earth — their planet's equator. Not so the Moon, whose orbit aeons ago. Although no one could positively locate lies strangely nearer the Earth's orbit around the Sun or where on Earth it originated, many speculated that the __ inclined to the Earth's ecliptic by more than five degrees. loss of material explained the huge gouge in the Earth Add to this the fact that the Moon's bulge, located on which forms the Pacific Ocean. However, this idea was __ the side facing away from Earth—thus negating the idea discarded when it was found that there is little similarity that it was caused by the Earth's gravitational pull— between the composition of our world and that of the — makes for an off-balanced world. Moon. It seems impossible that such an oddity could A more recent theory had the Moon created out of naturally fall into such a precise and circular orbit. It is space debris left over from the creation of the Earth. a fascinating conundrum, as articulated by science This concept proved untenable in light of current writer William Roy Shelton: "It is important to gravitational theory, which indicates that one large remember that something had to put the Moon at or object will accumulate all loose material, leaving none __ near its present circular pattern around the Earth. Just for the formation of another large body. It is now as an Apollo spacecraft circling the Earth every 90 aAtad Alanwhacn manned: nanantad that tha Mann A If the precise and stationary orbit of the Moon is an coincidence, is it also coincidence at just the right distance from the Sun completely during an eclipse? Moon. A more recent theory had the Moon created out of space debris left over from the creation of the Earth. This concept proved untenable in light of current gravitational theory, which indicates that one large object will accumulate all loose material, leaving none for the formation of another large body. It is now generally accepted that the Moon originated elsewhere and entered the Earth's gravitational field at some point 58 « NEXUS seen as sheer that the Moon is the Earth to cover Continued on page 80 DECEMBER 2010 - JANUARY 2011 www.nexusmagazine.com