金星虽然与地球拥有相似的质量、大小和结构，但却没有卫星环绕。加州大学河滨分校的最新研究提出了一种新观点：金星并非经历外部天体的灾难性撞击而失去卫星，而是由于其极其缓慢的自转速度与重力交互作用，导致假想的卫星逐渐被拉近，最终碎裂并被金星完全吞噬。

研究团队利用电脑模拟不同自转速度与卫星质量的演化情况，结果发现金星长达243个地球日的极慢自转，会使卫星持续向内螺旋坠落。尽管目前的模拟无法直接证实金星过去确实拥有卫星，且剧烈的火山活动与地质重塑掩盖了地表痕迹，但未来的地震学探测或许能深入地层寻找残留证据。

吞噬卫星的过程可能向金星注入庞大的能量与角动量，彻底改变了其地质、气候与宜居性演变历程。这项发现同时为系外行星的探索提供了全新视角：即使找到了与地球大小相当的潜在宜居行星，若其自转速度过于缓慢，可能同样无法长期维持卫星的存在，进而影响生命演化的环境。

Although Venus shares a similar mass, size, and structure with Earth, it does not possess a moon. A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, suggests that rather than losing a satellite through a catastrophic collision with another celestial body, Venus's extremely slow rotation combined with its gravity gradually dragged the moon inward until it broke apart and was completely swallowed.

The research team used computer models to simulate various planetary rotation rates and lunar masses, showing that Venus's exceptionally sluggish 243-day rotation inevitably causes any satellite to spiral downward. While this study does not definitively prove a moon once existed—and intense volcanic and tectonic activity has paved over surface evidence—future seismological surveys deep underground might uncover traces of an absorbed moon.

Absorbing a moon would have transferred massive energy and angular momentum into Venus, profoundly reshaping its rotation, geology, climate, and potential habitability. This insight provides a critical new perspective for studying exoplanets: even if Earth-sized worlds are discovered, those with slower rotation speeds may be unable to retain moons, thereby significantly altering their planetary evolution and habitability.