Special

The Origin of the Moon

Recent research has highlighted problems with our present explanation for how the Moon formed in the 'giant impact' of a large solar system body with the early Earth. In September 2013, London saw the latest in a series of landmark meetings debating theories of the Moon's origin, following others in 1984 (Kona, Hawaii) and 1998 (Monterey, California). These issues are now explored in a Nature Commentary, Nature News & Views Forum and Nature Geoscience News & Views article. We also present below a selection of recent Nature and Nature Geoscience content related to the age, composition and origin of the Moon.

Credit: Julien Salmon and Robin Canup/Southwest Research Institute

Commentary

Lunar conspiracies

Robin Canup

Nature 504, 27-29 ( 04 December 2013 )

News and views

Shadows cast on Moon’s origin

Tim Elliott & Sarah Stewart

Nature 504, 90-91 ( 04 December 2012 )
Occam’s origin of the Moon

Linda Elkins-Tanton

Nature Geoscience 6, 996-998 ( 28 November 2013 )
Traces of ancient lunar water

Erik Hauri

Nature Geoscience 14, 159-160 ( 27 February 2013 )
Galvanized lunacy

Tim Elliott

Nature 490, 346–347 ( 18 October 2012 )
Earth's titanium twin

Mattias Meier

Nature Geoscience 5, 240-241 ( 25 March 2012 )
Ancient lunar dynamo

Dominique Jault

Nature 479, 183–184 ( 10 November 2011 )
Making mountains out of a moon

Maria Zuber

Nature 476, 36–37 ( 04 August 2011 )
The early Moon was rich in water

Marc Chaussidon

Nature 454, 170-172 ( 10 July 2008 )
A younger Moon

Alan Brandon

Nature 450, 1169-1170 ( 20 December 2007 )

Letters

Water in lunar anorthosites and evidence for a wet early Moon

Hui et al.

Nature Geoscience 6, 177-180 ( 17 February 2013 )
Zinc isotopic evidence for the origin of the Moon

Paniello et al.

Nature 490, 376–379 ( 18 October 2012 )
The proto-Earth as a significant source of lunar material

Zhang et al.

Nature Geoscience 5, 251–255 ( 25 March 2012 )
An impact-driven dynamo for the early Moon

Le Bars et al.

Nature 479, 215–218 ( 10 November 2011 )
A long-lived lunar dynamo driven by continuous mechanical stirring

Dwyer et al.

Nature 479, 212–214 ( 10 November 2011 )
Chronological evidence that the Moon is either young or did not have a global magma ocean

Borg et al.

Nature 477,70–72 ( 01 September 2011 )
Forming the lunar farside highlands by accretion of a companion moon

Jutzi & Asphaug

Nature 476, 69–72 ( 04 August 2011 )
Lunar apatite with terrestrial volatile abundances

Boyce et al.

Nature 466, 466–469 ( 22 July 2010 )
The global distribution of pure anorthosite on the Moon

Ohtake et al.

Nature 461, 236-240 ( 10 September 2009 )
Timing of crystallization of the lunar magma ocean constrained by the oldest zircon

Nemchin et al.

Nature Geoscience 2, 133-136 ( 25 January 2009 )
Volatile content of lunar volcanic glasses and the presence of water in the Moon's interior

Saal et al.

Nature 454, 192-195 ( 10 July 2008 )
Super-chondritic Sm/Nd ratios in Mars, the Earth and the Moon

Caro et al.

Nature 452, 336-339 ( 20 March 2008 )
Late formation and prolonged differentiation of the Moon inferred from W isotopes in lunar metals

Touboul et al.

Nature 450, 1206-1209 ( 20 December 2007 )

News

Common source for Earth and Moon water

Ron Cowan

Nature ( 09 May 2013 )
Moon rocks offer new view of lunar dynamo

Alex Witze

Nature ( 06 May 2013 )
Moon-forming impact theory rescued

Ron Cowan

Nature ( 17 October 2012 )
Question over theory of lunar formation

Ron Cowan

Nature ( 25 March 2012 )

The Origin of the Moon

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