Receding Moon and Lunar Origin If the moon is moving away from
the earth at approximately 1.5 inches a year,and the earth is
approximately 4.5 billion years old. Then how far was the moon
from the earth then? Would 4.5 billion years times 1.5 inches =
miles from earth. The moon being 221,463 miles, how accurate
would that be. The number of miles I come up with is not even
close. A mile being 63,360 inches. That would make the moon part
of the earth. When did the moon separate from the earth? Hi, you
have just nailed an important theory right on the head. There is
a very well supported theory that the current Earth and Moon
were produced from the collision of two planets in the early
development of the solar system. These two planets, let us call
them proto-Earth and proto-Moon collided, mixed, and then
coalesced into the current Earth and Moon, with the Moon
steadily getting farther away. Many different data support this
theory. The fact as you have pointed out that they are moving
apart (unusual since gravit