Hello Friend,

           Last night, I was observing the Moon, in the early evening, and a promising evening of a clear night
and being able to see the Teapot (Sagittarius) looming over the southern horizon was enticing.

            As I started a fire in the firepit by the lake, I looked up again at the Moon,wondering once again
what it's origins were.

           Several cottagers across the lake were sending up fireworks, and our dog Maya, was not impressed
so I figured it might be several hours before the sky got dark enough to get a good look at the teapot.

            Studies undertaken recently of lunar rocks, have scientists solidifying their theories that a rather large
object, called Theia, which was about the size of the planet Mars, hit the earth approximately 4.5 billion years ago.

   That collision would have most certainly created sufficient amounts of debris that would then form the Moon.

           The composition of the Earth and the moon, is actually  quite similar.

Lunar samples returned from previous NASA missions have enabled scientists to continuosly refine their
examination techniques.

So while it's still presently a theory, let's hope that at some point, it will be confirmed as fact.

Clear Skies,

Ray Khan

PS  While many amateur astronomers gripe about the Moon interfering with their observing sessions, especially
       for deep space objects, it still remains a fascinating object to me, and the fact that man has stepped foot on it's
       surface, even more so.