What are the satellites of Venus?This is a question that has occupied the minds of scientists for several centuries now. This mysterious cosmic body turned out to be the only planet, named in honor of the female goddess. However, the uniqueness of Venus is not only that. What is known about the satellites of the mysterious planet, reminiscent of the Earth by gravity, composition and dimensions? Did they ever exist?
Satellites of Venus: the mysterious Neith
It all started with an interesting discovery thatmade in 1672 by the astronomer Giovanni Cassini. One of the most prominent scientists of the time accidentally discovered a small point, dwelling next to Venus. Fearing to make a mistake that would make him ridiculous in scientific circles, the astronomer first abstained from making public his discovery. However, the object was again noticed by him after 14 years, which the scientist did not already hide. According to the calculations made by Cassini, the diameter of the object was about four times the diameter of the planet.
Decades later, othersfamous scientists discovered the mysterious Neith. The satellite of Venus (the name was invented later) was noticed by such outstanding astronomers as Shot, Meyer, Lagrange. By 1761, information about the object was present in the works of already five independent observers, in total, he was seen 18 times. Of greatest interest to modern scholars are the recordings of Schouten, who in 1761 observed how Venus crossed the sun disc paired with a small dark point following it. The mysterious satellite was again seen in 1764 by two more observers, and then seen by astronomer Horrebau in 1768.
Was there a satellite
Does Venus have satellites?The discovery of Cassini caused the astronomical world to split into two militant camps. Some scientists claimed that they saw with their own eyes a mysterious dark point, while other astronomers insisted that it never existed.
An interesting treatise, in 1766, writtenthe head of the Vienna Observatory, Hell, who claimed that the object he saw was only an optical illusion and nothing more. Hell explains his theory by the brightness of the image of Venus, the ability of the light emanating from the planet to be reflected from the eyes of observers. According to his words, being reflected, the light is again inside the telescope, as a result of which another image is created which has a smaller size.
Supporters of the theory that the satellites of VenusThere are, of course, disagree with the opposite opinion expressed in the treatise of Hella. They cited various counterarguments, most of which have not survived to our days, since they were not confirmed by facts.
Ozo theory
A third group of scientists gradually formedthe ideological inspirer of which was the director of the Royal Ozo Obsuitere in Brussels. The scientist Ozo suggested in 1884 that the above object approaches the planet approximately every 1080 days, representing a separate planet, not a satellite. If you believe his opinion, Neith made a revolution around the Sun for 283 days, so it was recorded only a few times. By the way, the name of the mysterious point was suggested by this very scientist.
In 1887, on the initiative of Ozo, was helda large-scale study in the course of which the works of all scientists who allegedly saw the satellites of Venus were studied. It was found that in some cases, astronomers took for star satellites, which can be seen next to the planet, named after the woman goddess. For example, the proposed astronomer Horrebau’s satellite was just a star belonging to the Libra constellation.
Scientists verdict
Are there natural satellites of Venus?The first negative answer to this question dared to give the Dane, Karl Jansen. In 1928, an astronomer, famous in the last century, publicly stated that the planet, named after the woman goddess, had no satellites. Jansen called erroneous observations of his colleagues, which are described above. He was firmly convinced that Venus not only did not have satellites, but never had any.
Gradually, scientists have suspended attemptsdiscover the satellites of Venus, finally recognizing their absence. This does not mean that the question was finally closed and ceased to arouse curiosity among the representatives of the scientific world. One after another, various theories began to emerge concerning the mysterious disappearance of the pre-existing satellite satellites. The most interesting hypotheses on this issue are proposed below.
Theory # 1
How many satellites did Venus have, if you believeone of the most popular theories that many scholars still adhere to today? One - the one that disappeared, falling on the planet under the influence of the tidal forces of the sun. These forces significantly reduced the speed of rotation 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 weight than the Earth. It is not surprising that Venus easily pulled her own satellite, as a result of which there was no trace left of it.
Proponents of the theory, unfortunately, argue thatit cannot be proved by facts. The fact is that astronomers in times of satellite disappearance, unfortunately, did not have powerful devices to capture the crash that occurred. Therefore, the scientific world will never be able to prove or disprove the above hypothesis.
Theory # 2
Supporters of the second theory are also activelyAre interested in the past of the mysterious planet, called Venus. How many satellites did she have once, if you rely on their arguments? Scientists say that only one, considering such as Mercury. 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. Proof of this assumption, if you believe their arguments, is 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 a very massive satellite.
Theory # 3
The third group of scientists also takesFor several centuries, the remaining topical question is: what are the satellites of Venus. The list of those, according to their opinion, was always empty. The space body throughout its existence in the solar system remained alone. 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 disaster, according to supportersThe third theory is the only reason that a natural satellite cannot appear in the planet under study. Of course, there are other hypotheses that are less popular, but representatives of the scientific world have not been able to come to a common opinion.
The first artificial satellite
One cannot but touch upon another interesting question:about what they are - artificial satellites of Venus. The first of them was launched in June 1975. It was the Soviet "Venera-9", developed on the territory of the Moscow-based NPO Lavochkin. Curiously, from the technical point of view, the Venera-9 was significantly superior to the previous apparatuses of the Soviet Union. The mass of the famous artificial satellite, whose launch was a sensation all over the world, was approaching five tons.
Already in October 1975, the device successfully reachedto the illuminated side of Venus, which is impossible to see from our planet. The broadcast of images of the surface 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 caused associations with the mountainous terrain in winter. Communication with the device was maintained for an hour, which in those days was a serious achievement.
Research continues
Even knowing the answer to the question of how muchsatellites have Venus, people do not cease to study this mysterious planet. It is known that the program devoted to the study of the cosmic body, within which the launch of "Venus-9" was carried out, ceased to exist. It happened in the mid-80s, which was associated with a lack of funding and other problems. However, at present, Roskosmos is working on a grandiose project, the aim of which is to launch automatic interplanetary stations to Venus.
It is assumed that the Venera Glob andVenus-D will be launched approximately in the middle of the next decade, the exact date is still kept secret. Of course, at various times the United States also sent artificial satellites to study the planet. These were vehicles belonging to the Mariner series.
Quasi Satellite 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 nominal name of this space object is 2002 VE68, at the moment it is used throughout the world. The quasi-satellite has not yet earned its own name.
Facts about the quasi-satellite
Relatively little is known about this asteroid.as it was discovered only in 2002. It is established that the space object crosses the objects of three planets, it is Venus, Mercury and 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 maintain an affinity with the “Morning Star” for a long time.
Studies have shown that the quasi-satellite of VenusIt was formed about seven thousand years ago. Supposedly, he was in the Orbit of the Morning Star during the rendezvous with the Earth. Scientists say that the asteroid will remain in orbit for about five hundred years, and then move to a rapprochement with the sun. The exact time has not yet been calculated, but representatives of the scientific world do not give up, continuing to study this issue.
What are the prospects
Will the satellites of Venus ever appear?Some scientists do not rule out such a possibility categorically, but they claim that this is unlikely to happen in the next few hundred years. Consequently, for a long time, only the spacecraft and the quasi-satellite will be near the “Morning Star”. 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
Curiously, Venus is not at allthe only planet of the solar system, which has no natural satellites. Not so long ago, scientists established that they are absent from 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 Bowl was taken as a natural satellite.
Известно, что первым своим искусственным Mercury got a satellite only in March 2011. It was then that the Messenger spacecraft, which belonged to the United States, finally approached it. The answer to the question of how many satellites Venus had been received much earlier.
