What are the satellites 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 a female goddess. However, the uniqueness of Venus lies not only in this. What is known about the satellites of the mysterious planet, reminiscent of the Earth in terms of gravity, composition and dimensions? Did they ever exist?
Companions 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 dot located next to Venus. Fearing a mistake that would make him a laughingstock in scientific circles, the astronomer initially refrained from making his discovery public. However, the object was again noticed by him after 14 years, which the scientist did not hide. According to the calculations madeCassini, the diameter of the object was less than the diameter of the planet by about four times.
Decades later, other famous scientists discovered the mysterious Neith. The satellite of Venus (the name was invented later) was noticed by such prominent astronomers as Shot, Mayer, Lagrange. By 1761, information about the object was already 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 observed how Venus crossed the solar disk paired with a small dark dot following it. Again, the mysterious satellite was seen in 1764 by two more observers, and then seen by the astronomer Horrebouw in 1768.
Was there a satellite
Does Venus have moons? Cassini's discovery caused the astronomical world to split into two militant camps. Some scientists claimed to have seen the mysterious dark dot with their own eyes, while others 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 light emanating from the planet to be reflected from the eyes of observers. According to him, being reflected, the light is again inside the telescope, resulting in a different image,having a smaller size.
Supporters of the theory that the satellites of Venus exist, of course, did not agree with the opposite opinion set forth in Hell's treatise. They cited a variety of counterarguments, most of which have not survived to this day, as they were not confirmed by facts.
Ozo Theory
Gradually, a third group of scientists was formed, whose ideological inspiration was the director of the Brussels Royal Observatory, Ozo. The scientist Ozo suggested in 1884 that the aforementioned object approaches the planet approximately every 1080 days, representing a separate planet, not a satellite. According to his opinion, Nate made a revolution around the Sun in 283 days, so he was recorded only a few times. By the way, the name of the mysterious point was proposed by this scientist.
In 1887, on the initiative of Ozo, a large-scale study was carried out, 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 for satellites the stars that can be seen near the planet named after the female goddess. For example, the alleged satellite of the astronomer Horrebau turned out to be just a star belonging to the constellation Libra.
Scientists' verdict
Are there natural satellites of Venus? The first to give a negative answer to this question was the Dane Karl Jansen. In 1928, an astronomer who became famous in the last century publicly announced that a planet calledin honor of the female goddess, there are no satellites. Jansen called the observations of his colleagues, which are described above, erroneous. He was firmly convinced that not only did Venus not have satellites, but never had.
Slowly, scientists put a stop to their efforts to detect Venus' moons, finally admitting 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 the planet's satellites that previously existed. The most interesting hypotheses on this issue are offered below.
Theory 1
How many satellites did Venus have, according to one of the most popular theories, which many representatives of the scientific community still adhere to today? One is the one that disappeared, crashing into the planet under the influence of the tidal forces of the Sun. These forces significantly reduced Venus's rotational speed, causing the object to get too close to the planet. As you know, the cosmic body, which received the name in honor of the goddess, has a greater gravity than the Earth. Not surprisingly, Venus easily attracted its own satellite, as a result of which there was no trace of it.
Proponents of the theory, unfortunately, argue that it is impossible to prove it with facts. The fact is that at the time of the disappearance of the satellite, astronomers, unfortunately, did not have powerful devices that could capture the catastrophe. Therefore, the scientific world will never be able to prove or disprove the above hypothesis.
Theory 2
Supporters of the second theory are also actively interested in the past of the mysterious planet, called Venus. How many satellites did she ever have, based on their reasoning? 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 adhere to the second most popular theory also tend to blame the tidal force of the Sun. The proof of this assumption, according to their arguments, is the too slow rotation of Venus. After all, it was possible to establish that a 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 3
The third group of scientists is also occupied for several centuries by the topical question: what kind of satellites of Venus are they. The list of those, according to their opinion, has always been empty. The cosmic body throughout its existence in the solar system remained alone. People who adhere to this hypothesis suggest that Venus arose as a result of a large-scale catastrophe, which is a collision of two space bodies (planetoids).
It is the catastrophe, according to the supporters of the third theory, that is the only reason why the planet under study cannot have a natural satellite. Of course, there are other hypotheses that are less popular, but representatives of the scientific world have not been able to come to a consensus.
The first artificial satellite
It is impossible not to touch upon another interesting question: what are they - artificial satellites of Venus. The first of these was launched in June 1975. It was the Soviet Venera-9, developed on the territory of the Lavochkin NPO near Moscow. It is curious that "Venus-9" from a technical point of view, was significantly superior to the previous devices of the Soviet Union. The mass of the famous artificial satellite, whose launch became a sensation all over the world, was approaching five tons.
Already in October 1975, the apparatus successfully reached the illuminated side of Venus, which cannot be seen from our planet. A broadcast of images of the surface of the "Morning Star", as Soviet scientists poetically called Venus, was launched. Interestingly, this was the first time that images from the surface of another planet were transmitted to Earth. Of course, the photos were in black and white, the landscape of Venus evoked associations with the highlands in the winter. Communication with the device was maintained for an hour, which was a serious achievement in those days.
Research continues
Even knowing the answer to the question of how many satellites Venus has, people do not stop studying this mysterious planet. It is known that the programthe study of the cosmic body, within the framework of which the launch of Venera-9 was carried out, ceased to exist. It happened back in the mid-80s, which was due to 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 approximately in the middle of the next decade, the exact date is still kept secret. Of course, at different times the United States also sent artificial satellites to study the planet. These were vehicles belonging to the Mariner series.
Quas-satellite detection
So, it has been 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 code name for this space object is 2002 VE68, which is currently used throughout the world. The quasi-satellite has not yet received its own name.
Facts about a quasi-satellite
Relatively little is known about this asteroid, as it was discovered only in 2002. It has been established that the space object crosses 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 occurs between the quasi-satellite and Venus. It is this resonance that allows the asteroid to remain close to the Morning Star for a long time.
Studies have shown thata quasi-satellite near Venus formed about seven thousand years ago. Presumably, he was in the orbit of the "Morning Star" during the rendezvous with the Earth. Scientists say that the asteroid will stay in the orbit of Venus for about another five hundred years, and then move on to approaching the Sun. It is not yet possible to calculate the exact time, but representatives of the scientific world do not give up, continuing to study this issue.
What are the prospects
Will satellites of Venus ever appear? Some scientists do not categorically rule out such a possibility, but argue that this is unlikely to happen in the next few hundred years. Consequently, only spacecraft and a quasi-satellite will remain near the "Morning Star" for a long time. Other scientists do not believe at all that Venus has the ability to have satellites. Only time can tell which group was right and which was wrong.
Interesting fact
It is curious that Venus is by no means the only planet in the solar system that has no natural satellites at all. Not so long ago, scientists found that they are also absent from Mercury. Interestingly, for a certain 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 its first artificial satellite only in March 2011. It was then to him at lastthe spacecraft "Messenger", owned by the United States, approached. The answer to the question of how many satellites Venus has was received much earlier.
