Little Mercury may be shrinking faster than scientists expected

Mercury Mission - (NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington via AP)

A new study shows that little, wrinkly Mercury may be shrinking faster than expected, the cosmos’ version of a grape shriveling into a raisin under the sun.

Scientists from the German Aerospace Center’s Institute of Space Research reported Thursday that Mercury’s shrinkage may be 30% greater than previously believed — a loss in diameter of as much as 14 miles (23 kilometers). That’s significant for a planet barely 3,000 miles (4,900 kilometers) across.