UC Riverside study: Venus likely consumed its moon billions of years ago
Astrophysicists model how Venus's extremely slow rotation would have doomed any orbiting satellite to spiral inward and collide with the planet.
What to know
- UC Riverside astrophysicists published a study proposing Venus consumed any moon it once possessed due to the planet's extremely slow 243-day rotation, contrasting with Earth's 24-hour spin.
- Computer models show that regardless of a hypothetical moon's size, Venus's gravitational mechanics would have caused it to spiral inward and collide with the planet within the first billion years.
- The theory departs from previous explanations attributing Venus's moonless state to never acquiring one or losing it in a massive celestial collision, instead pointing to rotational physics as the determining factor.
“The transfer of energy from Earth's faster rotation is gradually pushing our moon farther away, causing it to recede from Earth at the rate of 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) a year—precisely measured by mirrors left on the lunar surface in 1969 by Apollo 11's astronauts.”
Stephen Krane, Lead author, UC Riverside astrophysicist · Channel News Asia ↗
Stephen Krane Astrophysicist, UC Riverside; lead authorUniversity of California, Riverside Research institution
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articles
-
2
Theory challenges previous explanations for Venus's moonless state
The study departs from past hypotheses that Venus either never acquired a moon or lost one in a massive celestial impact, instead proposing gravitational mechanics of its slow rotation as the definitive cause of any moon's destruction within the first billion years.
“If it had a moon, and it likely did at some point, it could not have kept it. That moon would have crashed down on the planet in a relatively short time scale.”
— Stephen Krane, Lead author, UC Riverside astrophysicist · source -
first by EarthSky, 9d ago · also Daily Star, Nautilus, Space, EurekAlert!, Eurasia Review, Gizmodo +13
13 more headlines
- Venus may have 'swallowed its own moon' in giant fiery gulp changing its evolution Daily Star · 9d ago
- Did Venus Eat its Own Moon? Nautilus | Science Connected · 9d ago
- Venus ate its moon EurekAlert! · 9d ago
- Venus May Have Had a Moon for Nearly 2 Billion Years—Before It Ate It AOL.com · 9d ago
- Venus may have swallowed its moon Bangkok Post · 9d ago
- Venus ate its own moon and didn’t even burp. We now know why Earth’s twin is moonless India Today · 9d ago
- Venus may have ‘swallowed’ its Moon due to slow rotation, astrophysics study suggests Telegraph India · 9d ago
- Astrophysics Study Suggests Venus May Have Swallowed Its Moon - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Google News · Science · 9d ago
- Astrophysics study suggests Venus may have swallowed its moon Straits Times · 9d ago
- Venus may have swallowed its own moon ScienceDaily · 8d ago
- Venus likely swallowed its moon Futurity · 8d ago
- Venus ate its own moon BBC Sky at Night Magazine · 8d ago
- Venus could have swallowed its own moon, study shows Mashable · 8d ago
-
-
background
Study identifies planetary rotation speed as key factor in moon retention — The research finds that Venus's 243-day rotation—over 200 times slower than Earth's 24-hour spin—prevents retention of moons, while Earth's faster rotation gradually pushes its moon away at 4 centimeters annually, precisely measured by Apollo 11 mirrors.
-
1
UC Riverside publishes moon-consumption theory in Astrophysical Journal
Astrophysicist Stephen Krane and colleagues present computer models simulating gravitational mechanics of hypothetical Venusian moons, showing all would collapse into the planet regardless of size.
-
Scientists may finally know why Venus, Earth's twin, lacks a moon, finding that the hottest planet in the solar system may have consumed its own natural satellite. # science # venus # solarsystem https://www. space.com/astronomy/venus/did- venus-eat-its-own-moon?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into FLIPBOARD EXCHANGE FEED 🗞️ @…
2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch
-
Did Venus eat its own moon? https://www. space.com/astronomy/venus/did- venus-eat-its-own-moon?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into Astronomy @ astronomy-Spacecom
-
U
https://www. europesays.com/us/1052201/ Did Venus eat its own moon? # Science # UnitedStates # UnitedStates # US
-
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
-
2 outlets Venus may have ‘eaten’ its own moon: New theory explains why Earth’s twin has no satellite
first by Moneycontrol.com, 9d ago · also Rediff
1 more headline
- New Research Explains Why Venus May Have Lost Its Moon Rediff · 9d ago