As the smallest planet in the Solar System, Mercury was once as big as Earth

Mercury, only 1/3 the size of Earth, is currently the smallest planet in the Solar System, but in the past, Mercury and Earth were the same size, until an incident occurred.

Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, has long attracted the attention of astronomers because of characteristics such as temperature fluctuations with extremely large amplitudes (from -173 degrees Celsius at night to 427 degrees Celsius). during the day), the surface is jagged with impact craters.

Close-up of Mercury's surface. (Photo: NASA).

According to Interresting Engineering, understanding Mercury faces many challenges. Because this planet is so close to the Sun, the spacecraft really needs a huge effort to fight the gravitational pull from the central star when it comes close to Mercury.

That means the spacecraft needs to consume a huge amount of fuel to avoid the tragic outcome of being dragged into the sun.

Despite the enormous challenge, the US Space Agency (NASA) managed to carry out two missions close enough to map the planet.

The results show that despite its small appearance, Mercury possesses a huge core compared to the mantle, while the crust is extremely thin.

Mercury also has an unusually high concentration of thorium , an element that would have evaporated in the planet's intense heat. And finally, similar to Earth, Mercury also possesses a magnetic field , meaning that Mercury's internal workings are probably extremely similar to Earth's.

Gathering the above information, planetary researcher Nicola Mari of the University of Pavia (Italy) and colleagues sought to compare the structure of Mercury with Earth. They found that the two planets are very similar, meaning that in the past their sizes were probably the same.

To explain the small shape of Mercury today, researchers believe that Mercury once collided with some outside force, resulting in its shell being wiped away and leaving its current state. we see today.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will jointly launch the BepiColombo mission in 2021 with the goal of exploring Mercury, and experts are waiting for results from this mission.