[Southack]

A collision should have some Earth material on the Moon, and some Moon material on Earth.

We see neither in amounts consistent with a collision.

Thus, we got our Moon via a capture.

[muawiyah]

What? Earth has been most of it's top most layers of light materials ever since the collision. That's why we have exposed ocean basins filled with basalt and continents of lighter weight limestone floating on top of it.

The Moon, on the other hand, is composed mostly of the same lightweight material that makes up the continents.

That was the clue to the analysis that resulted in a conclusion that Earth's former surface debris from a collision went into the creation of the Moon.

[muawiyah]

CORRECTION: "Earth has been MISSING most of it's top ...."

[RightWhale]

The moon is made of materials that would have been part of the crust of earth. The Pacific Ocean is the site of the borrow pit.

[bert]

alternatively and more likely, earth’s rings were attracted by the largest pieces in orbit and by the earth. They competed in attracting, sweeping if you will, all the earth orbital matter.

Now, only the moon is left, the ring is gone

[Swordmaker]

We see neither in amounts consistent with a collision.

The theory holds that both bodies were in a molten state after the collision.