It being Sunday I may be feeling more philosophical than scientific. I am thinking of the moon and the many things it does for the benefit of life on earth. Although the Giant Impact Theory has been around for a long while, I first read about Dr. Robin Canup’s work back in 2003 where she and her group created a computer modeled simulation of a mars size planet impacting the earth at an oblique angle a good while before cockroaches. The theory explains how the earth got a good sized molten iron core, why the earth is tilted 23 degrees, how the earth got it’s current rotation rate, and more. Whether the theory is true or not is not my point here. The fact is, those items I just mentions (core, tilt, and rotation) are generally accepted as true and it was reading about the Giant Impact Theory that enlightened my mind to those very basic facts. The magnetosphere generated by the molten-circulating core that protects the earth from the sun’s rude blast is a wonder. Mars is not so fortunate. The tilt of 23 degrees that allow for seasons is a wonder. The rotation rate to allow for a 24 hour day is great because if I sleep any longer then 6 hours my back hurts. If it was any shorter, I would never get a polar alignment + drift method done in time. Just these few facts alone when considered together would seem to make anyone just want to go “Wow! We are blessed!” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_impact_hypothesis http://www.psi.edu/projects/moon/moon.html Jim