Venus' strange rotation was likely triggered by a high-velocity, moon-sized impactor

Venus' strange rotation was likely triggered by a high-velocity, moon-sized impactor

Venus' bizarre and extraordinarily slow retrograde rotation on its axis has long puzzled planetary scientists. But in a new paper presented at the recent European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna, the authors argue that their models indicate a high-angle, moon-sized, high-velocity impactor likely triggered Venus' strange 248-day rotation. And it probably happened within the first 50 million years of Venus' formation.

Venus' Strange Rotation Was Likely Triggered By a High Velocity Moon-Sized Impactor

New simulations suggest Venus' extremely slow backward rotation may have been triggered by a high-angle collision with a fast-moving object roughly one-tenth its mass. The impact could have dramatically altered Venus' spin and melted nearly its entire mantle. Universe Today reports: Venus' bizarre ...