Give Thanks for Our Rare Moon

Our moon is a rare treat, says a press release from Jet Propulsion Laboratory, based on findings from the Spitzer Space Telescope.  The telescope looked for indications of dust from collisions in other planetary disks thought to be the age of our solar system when our moon formed.  According to the leading theory, our moon formed from the collision of a Mars-sized body impacting the earth when our solar system was 30 million years old.  Only 5-10% of dust disks had telltale signs of dust from such collisions.
    See also the story on New Scientist.  The moon is approaching full phase on the weekend Americans celebrate Thanksgiving.

The claim is based on a controversial theory that invokes an extremely improbable collision (01/26/2007, 02/19/2007).   It is based on unverifiable dating assumptions (09/25/2007, 08/08/2006).  The theory has many problems and is not accepted by some geologists, including Harrison Schmidt, who walked on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission (11/04/2002).  Students of philosophy of science may want to examine this story as an example of an explanation so intertwined with theory, it is hard to know where the theory stops and the evidence begins.
    While it is nice for astronomers to recognize our moon is special, we didn’t need their evolutionary assumptions.  The moon’s role in stabilizing earth’s axial tilt and tides is part of a large suite of evidences that show our home planet was designed for life.