Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

Mercury Is Slowly Collapsing in on Itself, and It’s Worse Than We Thought

New research suggests Mercury has shrunk more than previously estimated as its cooling core causes the planet’s surface to contract.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

Mercury is our solar system’s smallest planet, and it is determined to get smaller. It’s already about one-third the width of the Earth, and, according to a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters, it’s shriveling at a pace of 10 to 30 percent faster than anyone had previously realized.

When Mercury formed 4.5 billion years ago amid clashes of space rocks, it was scorching hot and significantly fatter. Over the eons, however, its metallic core cooled, and........

© Vice