Fiery Venus

Venus ate its moon

Study explains why Earth’s ‘twin’ lacks rocky satellite
By Jules Bernstein |
Breadcrumb

Scientists have long speculated why Venus, with a similar size, mass, and structure to Earth, doesn’t have a moon. New UC Riverside research shows it’s because our hungry twin likely swallowed it.

In the past, scientists have theorized that Venus possibly had a moon at one time that got hit with something massive, obliterating it. Other theories centered around the idea that Venus never underwent a collision that formed a moon in the first place.

The new research, published in The Astrophysical Journal, shows that neither theory fits.

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