New research may have confirmed a theory long held by scientists that the moon was created out of a collision involving our Earth and another planet, dubbed "Theia."

According to BBC News, the team of scientists published their work in the journal Science. For their study, they analyzed moon rocks returned by the Apollo astronauts and found traces of a planet that was not the Earth's.

The researchers got the name "Theia" from Greek mythology because she was the goddess of the moon, the mother of Selene. Some computer analyses had previously suggested the moon to have mostly come from Theia and the new discovery has the team of scientists believing their theory confirmed.

"It was getting to the stage where some people were suggesting that the collision had not taken place," study lead author Dr. Daniel Herwartz, of the University of Goettingentold, told BBC News. "But we have now discovered small differences between the Earth and the Moon. This confirms the giant impact hypothesis."

The research team measured the difference in isotopic composition of oxygen stored both in the moon rocks and on Earth. The team found that the isotopic composition of Earth and Theia were more similar than expected. They likened this measurement to a fingerprint, meaning they are supposed to be unique.

"The differences are small and difficult to detect, but they are there," Herwartz said in a press release. "This means two things; firstly we can now be reasonably sure that the Giant collision took place. Secondly, it gives us an idea of the geochemistry of Theia. Theia seems to have been similar to what we call E-type chondrites.

"If this is true, we can now predict the geochemical and isotopic composition of the Moon, because the present Moon is a mixture of Theia and the early Earth. The next goal is to find out how much material of Theia is in the Moon."

Rob de Meijer, of Groningen University in the Netherlands, was not affiliated with the study and he represents a group of scientists whose views on the formation of the moon remain unchanged.

"The difference is too small," he told BBC News. "We don't know how the Moon was formed. What we need are manned missions to the Moon and a search for rocks deeper under the lunar surface, that have not been polluted by meteorite impacts and the solar wind."