Mercury joins Earth in tectonically active club

Mercury is known for being the smallest planet in the Solar System, but, according to NASA, it’s also the only one besides Earth that’s tectonically active. Unlike Venus and Mars, which are basically cold, dead rocks, images from the unmanned MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft show that Mercury has small, cliff-like formations that suggest that the planet is contracting, which means that it has a hot, cooling interior.

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CrazyNeutrino said:

Mercury joins Earth in tectonically active club

Mercury is known for being the smallest planet in the Solar System, but, according to NASA, it’s also the only one besides Earth that’s tectonically active. Unlike Venus and Mars, which are basically cold, dead rocks, images from the unmanned MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft show that Mercury has small, cliff-like formations that suggest that the planet is contracting, which means that it has a hot, cooling interior.

more…

Hmm…

Mars has tectonism.
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-scientist-discovers-plate-237303

Europa might have
http://www.space.com/27059-jupiter-moon-europa-plate-tectonics.html

The Moon might have
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120221-moon-recent-tectonic-nasa-molten-space-science/

Also:
The article you’ve linked to says that tectonism is caused by shrinking or contraction, which is false, and is also not mentioned in the source paper’s summary or abstract. Tectonism is driven by temperature gradients, which does imply heat loss.

dv said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

Mercury joins Earth in tectonically active club

Mercury is known for being the smallest planet in the Solar System, but, according to NASA, it’s also the only one besides Earth that’s tectonically active. Unlike Venus and Mars, which are basically cold, dead rocks, images from the unmanned MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft show that Mercury has small, cliff-like formations that suggest that the planet is contracting, which means that it has a hot, cooling interior.

more…

Hmm…

Mars has tectonism.
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-scientist-discovers-plate-237303

Europa might have
http://www.space.com/27059-jupiter-moon-europa-plate-tectonics.html

The Moon might have
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120221-moon-recent-tectonic-nasa-molten-space-science/

Also:
The article you’ve linked to says that tectonism is caused by shrinking or contraction, which is false, and is also not mentioned in the source paper’s summary or abstract. Tectonism is driven by temperature gradients, which does imply heat loss.

I didn’t write the article, but thanks for observations.

Mercury has small, cliff-like formations that suggest that the planet is contracting

I suspect they mean WAS contracting, possibility hundreds of millions of years ago.