Mars is not a beautiful globe; it appears to have been flattened and distorted multiple times. Scientists have just discovered a surprising culprit.
According to Science Alert, a research team led by astronomer Michael Efroimsky from the U.S. Naval Observatory has provided a fascinating explanation for Mars’ unusual shape today: the influence of a mysterious “third moon” named Neiro.
Mars once had a large moon named Neiro – (AI-generated image: ANH THƯ)
Planets are not truly round. Among them, Mars is the most anomalous in the Solar System, with a profile resembling three overlapping ellipses.
It also possesses two peculiar moons named Phobos and Deimos, which closely resemble potatoes.
Neiro – named after a goddess of war, companion of the god Mars in Roman mythology – is an object approximately one-third the size of Earth’s Moon.
According to the calculations and models of Dr. Efroimsky, the gravitational force of this hypothetical moon’s mass was still sufficient to pull and distort Mars before its shape became fixed.
Thus, this moon must have existed in the early stages of the planet, when Mars was filled with ancient magma oceans, much like the young Earth.
At that time, Mars resembled a lump of malleable clay, continuously reshaped by Neiro. Unfortunately, the planet cooled and solidified just as its shape became most peculiar.
About 4 billion years ago, a period of continuous and severe celestial collisions occurred in the young Solar System, likely causing Neiro to shatter.
However, this moon did not actually disappear.
Although referred to as the “third moon” because it is known after Phobos and Deimos, Neiro may actually be the parent body of Phobos and Deimos.
In other words, the two moons of Mars today could be fragments from this hypothetical shattered satellite. This also provides a reasonable explanation for the distorted shapes of Phobos and Deimos.
Of course, it is also possible that Mars’ current satellites have different origins, and Neiro either drifted out of orbit or was completely destroyed.
