Astrophysics Study Suggests Venus May Have Swallowed Its Moon

Astrophysics study suggests Venus may have swallowed its moon

A California-based astrophysicist presented a new theory on Monday to explain why Venus, the planet most like Earth in size, mass and structure, lacks its own moon. Call it a case of celestial cannibalism. The extremely slow speed at which Venus rotates on its axis would have doomed any natural satellite that may once have orbited that planet to gradually spiral closer to its parent and ultimately be consumed in a cataclysmic smash-up. So goes t…

Venus ate its moon: How Earth's 'twin' could have swallowed a rocky satellite

Scientists have long speculated why Venus, with a size, mass and structure similar to Earth’s, doesn’t have a moon. New UC Riverside research shows that our hungry twin likely swallowed it. In the past, scientists theorized that Venus possibly had a moon that was hit by something massive, obliterating it. Other theories centered on the […]

Did Venus Swallow Its Own Moon?

Venus is often called Earth’s twin because the two planets are similar in size, mass and structure. Yet they differ in one striking way: Earth has a large moon, while Venus has none. Scientists have offered several explanations for this mystery. One idea suggests that Venus once had a moon that was destroyed by a […]