article_snippet.sent: Or Theia could have, coincidentally, been isotopically similar to EarthEarth.
article_snippet.sent: Both bodies have a similar isotopic
article_snippet.sent: ‘fingerprint,’ notably similar types of Tungsten, suggesting Both bodies had a similar origin.
article_snippet.sent: One difference, though, is that Earth has proportionally much less of a lighter isotope known as Tungsten-182.
article_snippet.sent: The team said this is because after Both bodies formed, Earth swept up more debris that had little Tungsten-182.
article_snippet.sent: Scientists at the Israel Institute of Technology and the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado said that Theia actually had a similar composition to Earth.
article_snippet.sent: the University of Maryland Maryland examined the tungsten isotopic composition of two moon rocks collected by the Apollo 16 mission, including sample 68815, seen here.
article_snippet.sent: When corrected for meteoritic additions to Earth and the moon after formation of the moon, the two bodies had identical Tungsten isotopic compositions .
article_snippet.sent: Supporting evidence includes Earth's spin and Moon's orbit having similar orientations.
article_snippet.sent: Moon samples indicating the surface of the moon was once molten also provide evidence,  as does the moon's relatively small iron core.
article_snippet.sent: And finally, the stable isotope ratios of lunar and terrestrial rock are identical, implying a common origin.
article_snippet.sent: The authors suggest The authors results may explain the similarities between Earth and the moon - and why The authors compositions differ from those of other planets in the solar system.
highlights_snippet.sent: But no one is sure why the moon and Earth have a similar composition .
  