mattttb t1_jb9fhey wrote on March 7, 2023 at 12:46 PM

Reply to comment by ChickenChimneyChanga in TIL the largest moon in our solar system, Ganymede, is larger than the planet of Mercury by Jugales

A big reason for Mercury’s core being so big compared to its total volume is that the outer layers of the planet have been blasted by incredibly intense heat and radiation over billions of years.

Think how long the top soil of Earth would survive temperatures that swing between 420°C to -170°C from day to night, with unimaginable radiation at all times.

couchmaster518 t1_jb9nzqp wrote on March 7, 2023 at 1:59 PM

It’s called shrinkage, and it can happen to any planet

AlternativeEgomaniac t1_jb9wvvr wrote on March 7, 2023 at 3:05 PM

“I was in the pool!” - Mercury

stewmander t1_jbat4ix wrote on March 7, 2023 at 6:35 PM

It shrinks?

shaggysaurusrex t1_jb9okz0 wrote on March 7, 2023 at 2:04 PM

Don’t they theorise that it was stripped in a collision?

Penguigo t1_jba2jpg wrote on March 7, 2023 at 3:43 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Mercury tidally locked, and therefore none of the planet experiences both day and night?

Gamenern t1_jba4zlq wrote on March 7, 2023 at 4:00 PM

Mercury isn't tidally locked to the sun, but rather in a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance. It actually has a 'day' that is the same length as 2 'years'.

Penguigo t1_jbaa0zq wrote on March 7, 2023 at 4:33 PM

Thank you, I did not know this!