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Moon formation

Punch combo or knock-out blow?

The twin isotopic signatures of the Moon and Earth are difficult to explain by a single giant impact. Impact simulations suggest that making the Moon by a combination of multiple, smaller moonlet-forming impacts may work better.

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Figure 1: Moon formation.

STOCKTREK IMAGES / STOCKTREK IMAGES / GETTY

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Correspondence to Gareth S. Collins.

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Collins, G. Punch combo or knock-out blow?. Nature Geosci 10, 72–73 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2880

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