science πͺ Venus might have eaten its own moon πͺ
Venus may have consumed its moon through a slow gravitational process instead of a massive collision. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside proposed this new theory after extensive modeling. The planet, which spins very slowly at 243 Earth days, naturally dragged any satellite inward. Simulations showed that under many conditions, the hypothetical moon would spiral inward and fragment. This finding impacts the search for habitable exoplanets, suggesting slow rotators might lose their moons.