Mercury is the planet closest to the sun.
Photo: NASA
New reports suggest that Mercury, the smallest and innermost planet in our solar system, may be shrinking faster than previously thought.
To visualize what's happening to Mercury, the planet is in the process of transforming from a plump, round grape into a dried grape under sunlight, according to NBC on September 10.
Scientists from the Space Research Institute of the German Aerospace Center announced on September 10th that Mercury has shrunk by more than 30% compared to previous estimates, with its diameter decreasing to approximately 22.5 km.
Given that Mercury has a diameter of less than 4,800 km, this is a significant discrepancy.
A report published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters notes that Mercury's jagged surface may have obscured the planet's actual extent of contraction.
This information was released a week after the European and Japanese spacecraft on the BepiColombo mission were approaching Mercury.
The two spacecraft, the European Space Agency's MPO and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Mio, are currently orbiting Mercury together and are expected to enter its orbit in November before separating into two distinct spacecraft to conduct a more comprehensive survey.
The laser instrument of the BepiColombo mission is expected to help determine how much Mercury has shrunk since its formation 4.5 billion years ago, according to the report's lead author, Gaku Nishiyama of Hokkaido University (Japan).
Expert Nishiyama believes that the new discovery about Mercury could also allow scientists to better understand the shrinking process of other celestial bodies outside our solar system.
"We are getting closer to the truth that will help reveal the evolution of Mercury," he said.