25% of Disruption energy...
Hi All
The impact of Theia was at almost zero hyperbolic excess and hit the Earth with about ~ 25% of the disruption energy. If Theia had come from anything but a walking orbit shared with Earth it would've almost certainly have rent the two asunder.
In Woolfson's capture theory planets A & B collided on highly elliptical orbits causing a massive explosion and fusion reactions within their deeper layers that blew the remnants apart. Planetary collisions are in principle visible to telescopic surveys of young star-forming regions.
Makes 20 km wide impactors seem almost tame.
Adam