Little Mercury May Be Shrinking Faster Than Scientists Expected
A new study suggests Mercury may have shrunk about 30% more than scientists previously thought, losing as much as 14 miles in diameter as its interior cooled and contracted over billions of years. "That's significant for a planet barely 3,000 miles (4,900 kilometers) across," reports the Associated Press. From the report: Mercury's rough surface, continually reshaped by debris hurled from impact…
A new study indicates that Mercury may have shrunk approximately 30% more than previously estimated, losing up to 14 miles in diameter as its interior cooled and contracted over billions of years. This is significant for a planet that is only about 3,000 miles (4,900 kilometers) in diameter. The findings, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, suggest that Mercury's rough and constantly reshaping surface due to debris from impact craters may have concealed the true extent of its shrinking.
The research, led by Gaku Nishiyama who is also involved in the upcoming BepiColombo mission, may be even higher based on data from NASA's Messenger spacecraft in the 2010s. BepiColombo, a joint European and Japanese spacecraft, is scheduled to enter orbit around Mercury in November before separating for a more comprehensive survey.
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