Did Earth Once Have Two Moons?

[Cyberia]

Earth may once have had two moons - the one that shines at night today and a smaller companion, according to a new theory. A slow-motion collision between the two is believed to have created the mountainous highlands on the moon's far side, as debris from the second, smaller moon piled up.

 

The side of the moon facing the Earth and the side facing away have strikingly different topographies. While the near side is relatively low and flat, the far side is high and mountainous with a much thicker crust.

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2022046/Earth-used-TWO-moons--destroyed-giant-solar-collision.html

 

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[visionsen]

However the theory l still believes the Earth has only one moon.

[Borson]

Personal Opinion: I believe the Earth helps protect the earth facing side of the moon. The far facing side is much more likely to be struct by foreign objects, and probably has. (The greater question for me is, If the moon had rotation, would the surface be more even?)

 

However, on a similar thought, I've had the idea that the asteroid belt was once a planetary body destroyed by collision with a massive foreign object.

[Turtle]

Personal Opinion: I believe the Earth helps protect the earth facing side of the moon. The far facing side is much more likely to be struct by foreign objects, and probably has. (The greater question for me is, If the moon had rotation, would the surface be more even?)

 

However, on a similar thought, I've had the idea that the asteroid belt was once a planetary body destroyed by collision with a massive foreign object.

 

erhm...the moon does rotate. see tidal locking >> tidal locking @ wiki

[Qfwfq]

The far facing side is much more likely to be struct by foreign objects, and probably has.

Not all that much more, actually. Earth's radius is less than 4 times the moon's, so the solid angle is hardly 14 times. the rest of the sky is much more than that. Alternatively, the distance is about 60 times Earth's radius; imagine a sphere 1 km in diamater which is 30 km above you.