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Venus Ate Its Moon: New Study Explains Earth's Twin's Missing Satellite
Key Takeaways
- New UC Riverside research published in The Astrophysical Journal suggests Venus swallowed its moon instead of losing it to a catastrophic impact.
- Earlier explanations proposed that Venus' moon was obliterated by a massive collision, or that Venus never formed a moon at all; the new study says neither fits.
- Earth's moon moves away about four centimeters (1.6 inches) per year because Earth's fast 24-hour rotation transfers energy to it.
- Venus takes 243 Earth days to rotate once and spins the opposite way, so a moon would spiral inward toward the planet.
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DT Editorial Team··via phys.org