Solar system’s smallest planet is getting even smaller — shrinking 30% faster than astronomers thought - New York Post
New research indicates that Mercury is shrinking 30% faster than previously estimated due to the planet's ongoing cooling process. Scientists utilized data from the MESSENGER spacecraft to identify new shortening structures on the planet's surface.
Why it matters
Understanding the geological evolution of Mercury provides critical insights into the formation and cooling history of terrestrial planets in our solar system.
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Add The New York Post on Google There’s less Mercury in the system.
Scientists found that Mercury, the solar system’s smallest planet, is shrinking far faster than previously believed, offering a never-before-seen window into the planet’s composition and history, per a study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
“We are approaching the reality of Mercury’s evolution,” the study’s lead author Gaku Nishiyama, a planetary scientist at the German Aerospace Center Institute of Space Research, told AP in an email.
While this proverbial raisin in the sun has been contracting for 4.5 billion years — a result of the cooling process following its fiery birth — the rate of decline may be 30% more than previously thought.
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