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An Impact Between Equals Could Solve The "Mercury Problem"

September 24, 2025
An Impact Between Equals Could Solve The "Mercury Problem"
By Evan Gough (https://ift.tt/MoFi09Y)

A true colour image of Mercury from NASA's Messenger spacecraft. New research is questioning the story of the tiny planet's formation. By NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Arizona State University/Carnegie Institution of Washington - https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11364, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83618472

Mercury's large metallic core is 70% of its mass, which is way more than the other rocky planets. Scientists have wondered if a collision with a much larger body stripped away much of its mantle and crust, and Mercury is only the remnant core of a once much larger planet. New simulations show that's not quite what happened.



September 25, 2025 at 02:28AM
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