It is announced that Venus may have swallowed its former moon due to its slow rotation
A new astrophysical study has revealed that Venus may have pulled its possible past moon into itself due to its own slow rotation, without any external influence.
It has been reported that Venus, which along with Mercury has no moon in the Solar System, may have had a moon in the past and that this moon may have been swallowed due to the planet's slow rotation.
The Mystery of Venus's Moon
A new astrophysical study has been published regarding Venus, one of the two planets in the Solar System along with Mercury that has no natural satellite. The study brings up an important hypothesis regarding the planet's past.
UCR Research and Simulations
In the study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) in the US, the reason why Venus is moonless was investigated using computer simulations.
The results obtained indicated that a possible moon might spiral closer to the planet over time rather than remaining stable in orbit.
The Effect of Slow Rotation
At the center of this scenario is Venus's extremely slow rotation. The planet completes one rotation around its axis in 243 Earth days.
According to the researchers, this slow rotation may have caused a hypothetical moon to be pulled toward the planet instead of moving outward.
Geological Structure and Impact Trace
Dr. Stephen Kane, the lead author of the study, stated that in most of the simulations, the moon eventually crashed into the Venusian surface.
According to scientists, such a collision could have profoundly affected Venus's geological structure, atmosphere, and the loss of its past oceans.