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Mercury may have shrunk much more than we thought, new study hints
New analysis says hidden crater debris may have masked 10% to 30% of Mercury’s contraction, suggesting a larger core and hotter past.
- On Thursday, researchers published a study in Geophysical Research Letters suggesting Mercury has contracted 10% to 30% more than previous models indicated, with impact-crater debris obscuring evidence of this significant shrinkage.
- Lead author Gaku Nishiyama, a planetary scientist at the German Aerospace Center, explained that geologically young impact debris masked the planet's shortening structures, which formed as Mercury cooled over roughly 4.5 billion years.
- The new estimate equates to a total diameter loss of roughly 12 miles since formation, exceeding the 2013 conference finding of about 11 kilometers shrinkage.
- Data from the European Space Agency's BepiColombo spacecraft, which recently began its arrival sequence, will capture higher-resolution imagery to measure topography and contraction with unprecedented precision.
- "If their results hold, and I'm confident they will, then we'll have taken a step further in investigating planets we can't yet visit in person," said Paul Byrne, a planetary scientist at Washington University in St. Louis.
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Little Mercury may be shrinking faster than scientists expected – WTOP News
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A new study shows that little, wrinkly Mercury may be shrinking faster than expected, the cosmos’ version of a grape shriveling into a raisin under the sun. Scientists from the German Aerospace Center’s Institute of Space Research reported Thursday that Mercury’s shrinkage may be 30% greater than previously believed —...
·Chevy Chase, United States
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Total News Sources44
Leaning Left17Leaning Right3Center14Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left
50% Left
L 50%
C 41%
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