All articles tagged with #mercury
On September 30, 2026, astrological forecasts highlight a Mercury opposite Chiron transit that rewards past efforts with financial clarity for Capricorn, Virgo, and Pisces. Simultaneously, a Moon in Gemini creates a 'Moon Alert' restricting shopping and major decisions until early afternoon, while Gemini and Libra experience peak social and intellectual energy.
On September 30, 2026, Mercury moves from Libra into Scorpio, a transition that multiple outlets interpret as a catalyst for financial clarity and strategic planning. While the Chicago Sun-Times published a standard daily horoscope, USA Today and YourTango provided detailed forecasts. YourTango highlights that this shift benefits Leo, Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio by encouraging budget reviews and honest conversations. USA Today notes that Mercury in Scorpio prompts introspection and a focus on hidden details across all signs. The movement is framed as a time to assess resources and clarify intentions rather than engage in impulsive action.
German Aerospace Center researchers estimate Mercury’s global shrinkage is 10–30% faster than previously thought, implying a total contraction of about 7.5–23 km over its history. By combining contraction features with surface roughness maps, they suggest hidden deformation under rough terrain may account for the higher rate, which could indicate a larger or more complex metal core and alter models of Mercury’s geodynamics. The finding uses older MESSENGER data; higher‑resolution maps from ESA’s BepiColombo arriving in 2026 are expected to refine the estimate further.
New estimates show Mercury has contracted by as much as 14.5 miles since its formation about 4.5 billion years ago, or nearly 1% of its current radius, and at a faster rate (up to 30% quicker) than previously thought, driven by cooling and contraction of its metallic core that wrinkles the planet’s surface; findings rely on surface features and data from missions like BepiColombo, which will orbit Mercury later this year.
From 1974 to 1990 Kumamoto Prefecture sealed about 1.5 million cubic meters of Minamata Bay sediment containing mercury above 25 ppm under a 58-hectare landfill, at a total cost of 48 billion yen (Chisso bore roughly 30.5 billion). The containment used steel sheet piles and pumped dredging to isolate contaminated sediment, and residual mercury in the sludge dropped to about 4.69 ppm. Fish monitoring continued and nets were removed in 1997; the cap stops a exposure pathway but does not erase Minamata’s health history, which remains addressed through ongoing certification and compensation programs.
Mercury has contracted up to 14.5 miles in diameter—roughly 30% more than earlier estimates—due to cooling of its iron core. Hidden surface roughness had masked the loss, but a new roughness map shows rugged regions carry fewer wrinkles while debris around major craters hides contractions. The finding implies a larger metallic core and fewer light elements, with implications for Mercury’s formation and magnetic field; upcoming laser mapping by the BepiColombo mission will help confirm the results.
A new study using data from NASA’s MESSENGER mission finds Mercury is contracting about 14 miles over 4.5 billion years, at roughly 30% faster rate than previously believed, helping scientists glimpse the planet’s interior and its cooling history.
A Geophysical Research Letters study using MESSENGER data suggests Mercury has contracted by about 7.2 miles, 10-30% more than previously thought, likely exposing new details about its large core and interior; the upcoming BepiColombo mission will provide topographic data to test these contraction estimates and deepen understanding of how rocky planets evolve.
Venus ends up hotter than Mercury not because it’s closer to the Sun, but because its thick CO2 atmosphere and dense clouds trap heat so effectively that infrared energy is repeatedly absorbed and re-emitted, creating a strong greenhouse effect. Mercury, by contrast, has almost no atmosphere, so it heats during the day but cools dramatically at night. Even though Venus reflects a large portion of sunlight, the atmosphere’s heat-trapping blanket means the planet’s surface stays extremely hot, illustrating that distance from the Sun is only part of a planet’s climate story.
New research suggests Mercury's diameter has shrunk by as much as about 14.5 miles—roughly 30% more than previously thought—due to cooling of its interior, though debris from impacts hides surface wrinkles; the upcoming BepiColombo mission, arriving in 2026, will help refine how much Mercury has contracted.
A new study suggests Mercury is shrinking up to 14 miles (23 kilometers) in diameter—about 30% faster than previously thought—likely due to cooling of its large iron core; the rough surface from impacts can hide wrinkles, and data from the BepiColombo mission, along with earlier Messenger measurements, should help confirm how much Mercury has contracted.
The European Space Agency's BepiColombo mission arrived at Mercury on Sept. 3, becoming only the third spacecraft to visit the innermost planet. After an eight-year journey powered by gravity assists across billions of miles, the Mercury Transfer Module separated from the stack, marking a landmark milestone for ESA and JAXA. The two science modules—MPO and Mio—will begin primary mission phases in the coming years to study Mercury's interior, magnetic field, and environment, with goals including understanding Lopate scarps and the planet’s exosphere.
New Mexico’s Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope—whose 250-ton optics floated on liquid mercury—is being demolished after mercury was found inside the tower; the hazardous bearing prompted NSF to remove the mercury and retire the instrument, with demolition planned for 2026 as researchers shift to Hawaii’s newer Inouye Solar Telescope.
A Geophysical Research Letters study finds Mercury may be contracting faster than thought—possibly up to 14 miles in diameter (about 30% more than earlier estimates)—as its hot core cools and the surface wrinkles tighten. Researchers say rough, debris-covered regions may hide some shrinking, with findings building on NASA’s MESSENGER data and awaiting confirmation from the BepiColombo mission’s closer Mercury observations to refine how Mercury’s evolution is playing out.
ESA/JAXA’s BepiColombo released a stitched video of its nearly eight-year, 9.9-billion-km cruise to Mercury, showing gravity assists past Earth, Venus and Mercury. The footage, from the MTM cameras, has been cleaned of light-artefact streaks. The mission’s final arrival sequence begins in late 2026, with the Mercury Transfer Module separating and MPO and Mio entering Mercury orbit in November 2026, marking the first time two spacecraft will orbit Mercury simultaneously for detailed mapping.