2024-02-16 23:16:48
The Earth has a natural satellite, the Moon; Mars has two, Phobos and Deimos. On the other hand, Mercury and Venus, the two other planets of the inner Solar System, seem to evolve alone during their rotation around the Sun. For several centuries, many astronomers have tried to discover a hypothetical satellite of Venus, in vain; but in 2002, American astronomer Brian A. Skiff identified a small asteroid, appearing to have an orbit similar to that of Earth’s twin sister. Venus would therefore no longer be a lonely star?
The first “quasi-moon” discovered in the Solar System
Initially named 2002VE68, the asteroid a few hundred meters in diameter does not in fact orbit around Venus (like the Moon orbits around the Earth), but around the Sun; however, it is in 1:1 orbital resonance with the planet, meaning that both objects complete a complete rotation around the Sun in the same amount of time (around 224 days). On the other hand, it has a complex and eccentric orbit, sometimes passing close to the orbits of Earth and Mercury.
Due to its complex rotation, the orbit of 2002VE68 is ephemeral: according to models, it once orbited close to the Earth, before being injected around 7,000 years ago into the inner Solar System to reach its current orbit, in which he will remain for another five centuries before being ejected.
A temporary companion now named!
If the asteroid was previously only known by its slightly barbaric nickname of 2002VE68, the international astronomical community has just given it a real name, which this time denotes the conventional names for objects of this type, usually referring to deities. Its name “Zoozve”, which was made official on February 5, actually comes from a reading accident: in creating a poster of the Solar System intended for children, the artist Alex Foster had incorrectly copied the provisional name given to the ‘asteroid. Finally, it’s Latif Nasser, the co-author of the podcast series Radiolab who, upon seeing the poster, submitted the proposal for the name “Zoozve” to the international astronomical community.
Numerous “quasi-satellites” have been detected in the Solar System since the discovery of Zoozve, including seven close to Earth.
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#amazing #story #Venus #hidden #moon