Lewis Andrews

The collision of the infant Earth with a Mars-sized object called Theia is theorised to have occurred 50 million years after the solar system began to form. Known as the 'Big-Splat' or Giant Impact Hypothesis, evidence points towards Theia having a glancing blow with the young Earth creating a plume of debris that eventually merged into what would become our moon and utterly shattering Theia on impact. However, evidence from moon rocks shows their composition to be not that indistinguishable from Earth, suggesting the moon may have been a part of Earth blasted away during impact. Although different versions of the Hypothesis are still up for debate, we know that very early on in our planet's history, a large impact occurred and the remnants of Theia lie beneath your feet.