Mercury is shrinking faster than we thought. What's going on inside of it?

Written and edited by the WorldPing NewsdeskPublished Updated Original reporting: Space.com
Mercury is shrinking faster than we thought. What's going on inside of it?WorldPing
Image via Space.com.

What happened

Wrinkles on the surface of Mercury have revealed that the closest planet to the sun is shrinking faster than scientists thought.

Key facts

  • Reported by Space.com and published Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:00:00 UTC.

Why it matters

Research findings and mission results set the evidence base that policy, funding and later discoveries build on.

What to watch next

  • Peer review status and replication of the findings
  • Mission milestones and next scheduled attempt
  • Funding or policy decisions that follow

Coverage timeline

When each newsroom published on this story, oldest first — all times UTC.

  1. Mercury may have shrunk much more than we thought, new study hints

  2. BepiColombo measures Mercury's particle bombardment up close

  3. Mercury is shrinking faster than we thought. What's going on inside of it?

  4. A fossil feather preserved inside dinosaur poop could help explain why birds survived the mass extinction

Sources

The original report was published by Space.com. WorldPing does not claim that reporting — this page summarises and contextualises it.

Read the full report at Space.com

Related WorldPing coverage

BepiColombo measures Mercury's particle bombardment up closeWorldPing
Phys.org

BepiColombo measures Mercury's particle bombardment up close

The joint BepiColombo mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is settling into orbit around Mercury after an eight-year journey.

Brief by WorldPing · Original reporting by Phys.org