Unde a dispărut Luna planetei Venus? Cercetătorii cred că planeta și-a „înghițit-o” • Newsweek România

Venus, often called Earth's twin, lacks a moon, and researchers suggest it may have once had one that was destroyed in a catastrophic collision. A study from the University of California, Riverside, proposes that Venus's slow rotation caused any potential moon to spiral inward and eventually crash into the planet. Simulations indicate that if Venus had a moon, it would have inevitably fallen to the surface. This event likely occurred within the first billion years of Venus's formation, around 4.5 billion years ago. While previous theories suggested Venus never had a moon or lost one to an impact, this new theory attributes the loss to Venus's own dynamics. The study highlights the importance of understanding Venus's history for insights into Earth's evolution.