Figure 6-29The Moon’s Creation This computer simulation models the creation of the Moon from material ejected by the impact of a large planetlike body with the young Earth. Successive views (a–f) show the impact, splash, and formation of a ring of debris orbiting Earth. In this simulation, the impact ejects both mantle and core material, but most of the dense iron falls back onto Earth. The surviving ejected rocky matter forms the ring in frame (f). This debris will quickly coalesce into the Moon, initially orbiting some 10 times closer to Earth than it is today.