Two moons would have shone in Earth's night sky millions of years ago, according to a recent study to be presented in September at the Royal Society in London. Erik Asphaug, planetary scientist at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and Martin Jutzi, from the University of Bern, argue that during the collision between our planet and another celestial body that caused the lunar formation, another twin satellite was created, of which today we know.
The second moon would have formed from such debris at the same time as the first, approximately 4.5 billion years ago, for a few million years later, colliding and merging into the same satellite. During this time, both would have orbited the Earth at the same speed and distance, that is, at 1 km / s and 384,400 kilometers.
The proof of the existence of a second moon is found, according to Asphaug, in the orographic differences between the two faces of the Moon . A computer simulation designed by the American researchers has recreated the collision process that occurred. They also point out that the satellite, to cause such damage, must have had a mass equivalent to one third of the current Moon and a diameter of about 1,000 km.
The results will be presented in September at the Royal Society in London.
