FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR IMPACTS IN THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM

• Mercury:

  • Orbit somewhat tilted

• Venus’ Rotation:

  • Doesn’t match the general trend of the solar system – goes “backwards”

• Earth-Moon:

  • Earth’s rotation axis is tilted relative to its orbit (and plane of solar system)
  • Moon believed to have formed from the impact of a Mars-sized body with the Earth, early in the Solar System’s history

Notes: