What are the moons of Venus? This is a question that has occupied the minds of scientists for several centuries. This mysterious cosmic body turned out to be the only planet named after the woman goddess. However, the uniqueness of Venus is not only this. What is known about the satellites of the mysterious planet, reminiscent of the Earth by gravity, composition and dimensions? Have they ever existed?
Satellites of Venus: the Mysterious Nate
It all started with an interesting discovery made in 1672 by astronomer Giovanni Cassini. One of the most prominent scientists of that time accidentally discovered a small point located near Venus. Fearing to make a mistake that would make him the laughing stock in the scientific community, the astronomer at first refrained from publicizing his discovery. However, the object was again noticed by him after 14 years, which the scientist did not begin to hide. According to the calculations made by Cassini, the diameter of the object was approximately four times smaller than the diameter of the planet.
Several decades later, other famous scientists discovered the mysterious Nate. The satellite of Venus (the name was invented later) was noticed by such outstanding astronomers as Shot, Mayer, Lagrange. By 1761, information about the object was present in the writings of five independent observers; in total, it was seen 18 times. Of greatest interest to modern researchers are the records of Schouten, who in 1761 watched as Venus crossed the solar disk paired with a small dark point following it. Once again, the mysterious satellite was spotted in 1764 by two more observers, and then it was seen by the astronomer Horrebau in 1768.
Was there a satellite
Does Venus have satellites? The discovery of Cassini made the astronomical world split into two belligerent camps. Some scientists claimed that they saw a mysterious dark point with their own eyes, while other astronomers insisted that it never existed.
An interesting treatise was written in 1766 by the head of the Vienna Observatory, Hell, who claimed that the object he saw was just an optical illusion and nothing more. Hell explains his theory by the brightness of the image of Venus, the ability of the light coming from the planet to reflect from the eyes of observers. If you believe his words, being reflected, the light again appears inside the telescope, as a result of which another image with a smaller size is created.
Proponents of the theory that the satellites of Venus exist, of course, did not agree with the opposite opinion expressed in Hell's treatise. They cited various counterarguments, most of which have not survived to our days, as they have not been confirmed by facts.
Ozo Theory
Gradually, a third group of scientists formed, the ideological inspirer of which was the director of the Brussels Royal Ozo Observatory. Scientist Ozo suggested in 1884 that the aforementioned object approaches a planet approximately every 1080 days, representing a separate planet, not a satellite. If you believe his opinion, Nate made a revolution around the Sun in 283 days, so it was recorded only a few times. By the way, the name of the mysterious point was proposed precisely by these scientists.
In 1887, a large-scale study was conducted at the initiative of Ozo, during which the works of all scientists who allegedly saw the satellites of Venus were studied. It was found that in some cases, astronomers mistook the stars for the satellites, which can be seen next to a planet named after the woman goddess. For example, the alleged satellite of the astronomer Horrebau turned out to be just a star belonging to the constellation Libra.
The Verdict of Scientists
Are there natural moons of Venus? The Dane Karl Jansen dared to give the first negative answer to this question. In 1928, the astronomer famous in the last century publicly announced that the planet, named after the woman goddess, lacked satellites. Jansen called the observations of his colleagues described above erroneous. He was firmly convinced that Venus had not only no satellites, but never had.
Gradually, scientists suspended attempts to detect the satellites of Venus, finally recognizing their absence. This does not mean at all that the issue was finally closed and ceased to arouse curiosity among representatives of the scientific world. One after another, various theories began to arise regarding the mysterious disappearance of planetary satellites that previously existed. The most interesting hypotheses devoted to this issue are proposed below.
Theory number 1
How many satellites did Venus have, according to one of the most popular theories, which many representatives of the scientific community adhere to today? One is the one that disappeared, crashing onto the planet under the influence of the tidal forces of the Sun. These forces significantly reduced the rotation speed of Venus, as a result of which the object was too close to the planet. As you know, the cosmic body, named after the goddess, has more gravity than Earth. It is not surprising that Venus easily pulled its own satellite, as a result of which no trace was left of it.
Proponents of the theory, unfortunately, argue that it is impossible to prove by facts. The fact is that astronomers at the time of the disappearance of the satellite, unfortunately, did not have powerful devices that capture the disaster. Consequently, the scientific world will never be able to prove or refute the above hypothesis.
Theory number 2
Supporters of the second theory are also actively interested in the past of a mysterious planet called Venus. How many satellites did she once have, based on their arguments? Scientists claim that there is only one, considering Mercury as such. There were times when Mercury was only a satellite of this planet, but gradually separated and acquired its own planetary orbit.
Why did this happen? Scientists who hold the second most popular theory are also prone to blame the tidal power of the sun. The evidence for this assumption, according to their arguments, is the too slow rotation of Venus. After all, it was possible to establish that the day on this planet is equal to eight months spent on Earth. In addition, astronomers refer to the temperature of the planet, believing that it became so hot directly under the influence of an overly massive satellite.
Theory number 3
The third group of scientists has also been occupied for several centuries by the burning question: what are they - the satellites of Venus. The list of those, according to their opinion, was always empty. The cosmic body throughout its existence in the solar system remained lonely. People adhering to this hypothesis suggest that Venus arose as a result of a large-scale catastrophe, which is a collision of two cosmic bodies (planetoids).
It is a catastrophe, according to supporters of the third theory, that is the only reason that a studied satellite cannot have a natural satellite. Of course, there are other hypotheses that are less popular, however, representatives of the scientific world could not come to a consensus.
The first artificial satellite
One cannot but touch upon another interesting question: what artificial satellites of Venus they are. The first of them was launched back in June 1975. It was the Soviet "Venus-9", developed on the territory of the Moscow-based NGO named after Lavochkin. It is curious that Venera-9 from a technical point of view significantly exceeded the previous apparatuses of the Soviet Union. The mass of the famous artificial satellite, whose launch became a sensation throughout the world, was approaching five tons.
Already in October 1975, the device successfully reached the illuminated side of Venus, which cannot be seen from our planet. A broadcast of surface images of the Morning Star was launched, as Soviet scientists poetically called Venus. Interestingly, this was the first time that images from the surface of another planet were transmitted to Earth. Of course, the photos were black and white, the landscape of Venus evoked associations with the highlands in winter. Communication with the device remained for an hour, which in those days was a major achievement.
Research continues
Even knowing the answer to the question of how many satellites Venus has, people do not stop exploring this mysterious planet. It is known that the program dedicated to the study of the cosmic body, in the framework of which the launch of Venus-9 was carried out, ceased to exist. This happened back in the mid-80s, which was associated with a lack of funding and other problems. However, at the moment, Roscosmos is working on a grandiose project, the purpose of which is to launch automatic interplanetary stations to Venus.
It is assumed that the Venera-Glob and Venera-D stations will be launched around the middle of the next decade, the exact date is being kept secret. Of course, at different times, the United States also sent artificial satellites to study the planet. These were devices belonging to the Mariner series.
Quasisatellite Detection
So, it is established that the satellites of Venus, the number of which is considered in this article, are absent. But the planet, named after the goddess, has a quasi-satellite, which is an asteroid. The conventional name for this space object is 2002 VE68, currently it is used all over the world. The quasi-satellite has not yet been awarded a proper name.
Quasisatellite Facts
Relatively little is known about this asteroid, since it was discovered only in 2002. It was established that a space object intersects the objects of three planets, these are Venus, Mercury and the Earth. Its rotation around the Sun is carried out in such a way that an orbital resonance arises between the quasi-satellite and Venus. It is this resonance that allows the asteroid to maintain intimacy with the Morning Star for a long time.
Studies have shown that the quasi-satellite of Venus formed about seven thousand years ago. Presumably, he was in the orbit of the "Morning Star" during the approach to the Earth. Scientists claim that the asteroid will stay in the orbit of Venus for another five hundred years, and then move on to approach the Sun. It is not yet possible to calculate the exact time, but representatives of the scientific world are not giving up, continuing to study this issue.
What are the prospects
Will there ever be moons of Venus? Some scholars do not exclude this possibility categorically, but argue that this is unlikely to happen in the next few hundred years. Therefore, for a long time next to the "Morning Star" will be only spacecraft and a quasi-satellite. Other scientists do not at all believe that Venus has the ability to have satellites. Only time can show which group was right and which was wrong.
Interesting fact
It is curious that Venus is not at all the only planet in the solar system that has completely no natural satellites. Not so long ago, scientists have established that they are absent in Mercury. Interestingly, for some time it was assumed that the satellites of this planet once existed, and then disappeared. However, studies have shown the fallacy of this version. It turned out that a star belonging to the constellation Chalice was taken as a natural satellite.
It is known that Mercury acquired his first artificial satellite only in March 2011. It was then that the Messenger spacecraft, which belonged to the United States, finally approached him. The answer to the question of how many satellites Venus has been received much earlier.