Waspie_Dwarf Posted July 7, 2014 #1 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Planet Mercury a result of early hit-and-run collisions Planet Mercury’s unusual metal-rich composition has been a longstanding puzzle in planetary science. According to a study published online in Nature Geoscience July 6, Mercury and other unusually metal-rich objects in the solar system may be relics left behind by collisions in the early solar system that built the other planets.The origin of planet Mercury has been a difficult question in planetary science because its composition is very different from that of the other terrestrial planets and the moon. This small, innermost planet has more than twice the fraction of metallic iron of any other terrestrial planet. Its iron core makes up about 65 percent of Mercury’s total mass; Earth’s core, by comparison, is just 32 percent of its mass. Read more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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