GoKawiilStudy: Venus May Have Once Had a Moon That Fell Back Into the Planet
A new study in The Astrophysical Journal argues Venus once had a natural moon that gradually spiraled inward and collided with the planet, explaining why Venus is moonless today. Lead author Stephen Kane, an astrophysicist at UC Riverside, says the moon's demise didn't require a violent impact event, but resulted from the interplay between Venus's gravity and its slow rotation rate.