// NATURE NEWS — SPAZIO & SCIENZA
Mercury is shrinking with age — faster than thought
Mercury’s surface (artificially coloured) is pocked with craters made by comets and meteoroids. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins Univ. Appl. Phys. Lab./Carnegie Inst. Washington/SPL
Mercury, the smallest planet in the Solar System, is contracting as it cools, creating distinctive wrinkles across its surface. Analysis of these features suggests that since the planet formed, its diameter has shrunk by around 23 kilometres1 — a finding that puts fresh constraints on the evolution of Mercury’s interior.
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Nishiyama, G. et al. Geophys. Res. Lett. 53, e2026GL124067 (2026).
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