The oldest of the four theories speculates that the moon was originally part of the earth, and was somehow spun off a rapidly spinning, partially molten, newly forming planet.
Once prevalent, this theory (sometimes referred to as the fission theory) has largely been rejected, because it does not explain how the proto-Earth could have been spinning with sufficient velocity to eject the material that became the moon. Moreover, it is highly unlikely that such an ejection would have put the moon into a stable Earth orbit.
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To my view and understanding of physics, this theory is debunked before it can even get off the ground... and here's why:
The Earth spins (in relation to the North Star) counter-clockwise while the Moon revolves around the Earth in the opposite direction, from West to East. Thus, for the ejected material to have been flung off of Earth, centrifugal forces would have flung such off in the SAME DIRECTION as the Earth spins... not in the opposite direction. Thus... any theory that pre-supposes the Earth to have been the "mother" object from which the Moon was formed is going to likewise be forced to face this glaring contrary fact.
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