Will it affect the direction and the speed of rotation?
Will it affect the length in a day?
Will it affect the atmospheric composition?
2006-06-08 09:15:30 · 11 answers · asked by majornaturex90 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
I'm not entirely sure I understand your question.
If Venus acquired a moon, that moon's effect on the Earth would be negligible. The moon might be visible through a telescope but it seems unlikely the morning star aka evening star aka Venus would appear as a double.
With respect to Venus, the acquisition of a moon would likely have an affect on most of the aspects you mention. The gravitational pull of our moon is responsible for the tides here; a similar phenomena might be observed on Venus with respect to its extremely thick atmosphere.
The mere presence of a moon is unlikely to change the chemical composition of the atmosphere. However, Venus is geologically active (over 1600 volcanoes dot the surface of the planet) and the gravitational pull of a new moon might create different tectonic stresses. In turn, this could encourage/discourage volcanic activity which would, indirectly, change the atmospheric mix.
If Venus were to acquire a moon, it would influence rotation/length of day but probably not a lot. However, celestial mechanics was never my strong suit....
2006-06-15 17:10:50 · answer #1 · answered by meditavi 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it suddenly popped into existence, nothing would change immediately. However, Earth and its own moon certainly do have an effect on each other, and Venus' imaginary moon would, over millions of years, have some effect on the speed of rotation of both objects, changing the length of a day. I doubt if any effect to the atmosphere would be likely, unless the moon heavily shadowed the planet during transit, it which case cooling could occur and have a large effect on the chemistry of the planet. It'd have to be a big moon. The downside is, if the moon popped into existence suddenly, the mass change of the venus-moon system would cause it to go into a much more elliptical orbit around the sun. To compensate, the system would have to be moved out from the sun a little.
2006-06-19 15:06:25 · answer #2 · answered by Tom J 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, our moon has slowed down the speed of rotation for the earth (making a shorter day), but less than an hour since the dinosaurs. The rotation of the moon around the earth creates gravitational friction. This friction helps to heat up the earth's core and creates tides. It also makes the atmosphere denser at the equator. However, I don't think it will change the actual composition of the atmosphere of Venus.
2006-06-17 01:06:58 · answer #3 · answered by Dan S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depending on the mass of the moon, its orbital incidence, and distance from Venus, the effects could vary greatly. But the primary effects would be the same as those of our moon. It would have an effect on tides (if there were any liquid on Venus). It would affect the atmosphere and associated weather patterns. The gravitational pull of such an object could also affect tectonic activity and potential associated volcanism.
2006-06-20 14:40:17 · answer #4 · answered by impiltdownman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only effect I could forsee is that the so-called "morning star" would appear as a double star instead of just one. It would be too far away to have any actual effect here on earth. If it did affect something, it might affect the directon or shape of earth's orbit, but a simple piece of rock could not affect the elemental composition of earth's known atmosphere. No need to worry about that.
2006-06-08 17:35:18 · answer #5 · answered by Allistair Fraser 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would affect Venus, but less than our moon affects Earth. Our moon is slowing Earth down due to drag it exerts on our oceans. Since the H2O on Venus is all vapor, the drag would be much less.
2006-06-08 17:39:15 · answer #6 · answered by habaceeba 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
thats a hard question to ask, and answer, because we can't imagine what that would be like, it might slow Venus down, it might freeze its rotation, but if it did we would know nothing else so everything we know now would be of no matter
2006-06-21 20:12:22 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it would effect the way way lava and sulfur travel and cause jumps or waves just like our moon raises and lowers tides. Read a book moron.
2006-06-19 23:14:51 · answer #8 · answered by Dylan 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it would do all that stuff to venus but wouldnt change anything on earth because venus is too far away
2006-06-22 00:29:47 · answer #9 · answered by seventhundersuttered 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
actualy venus does have a moon named geneva so no nothing changes
2006-06-20 10:43:51 · answer #10 · answered by GOTCHA! 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋