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Mercury is shrinking, Nasa space probe reveals

telegraph.co.uk — The smallest planet in the solar system is shrinking, a space mission to Mercury has revealed.The Messenger space probe, which began its 5 billion mile journey to Mercury four years ago, has provided new evidence that the closest planet to the sun is contracting in on itself.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jul 4, 2008

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  • ferrell, on 07/04/2008, -1/+63Shrinkage?

    And Mercury can't even use the excuse that it's cold out.
  • nackle, on 07/04/2008, -0/+35Uh Oh!!! Pluto you about to have some company.....
  • jdubsta235, on 07/04/2008, -1/+19oh george castanza... only he knows what real shrinkage is.
  • ferrell, on 07/04/2008, -0/+15You cannot get to mercury (or any other planet, for that matter) by traveling in a straight line.

    This video shows the flight path of the Messenger spacecraft...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otF2FjpCyZk
  • adml_shake, on 07/04/2008, -0/+13That close, and that many laps around the sun? It was bound to drop a few pounds...
  • tas08, on 07/04/2008, -0/+12Cool new info! I'd never considered the shrinkage that would occur from the hardening of the core... also, the fact that the core is still active is really interesting to me!
  • bassman12593, on 07/04/2008, -0/+10well they were ***** idiots. the planet uninhabitable.
  • Fallout911, on 07/04/2008, -2/+11It's UNDER 9,000!
  • xchino, on 07/04/2008, -1/+10IQ quotient is redundant as IQ is an acronym for intelligence quotient. You may have just proven your own point.
  • twinklyJesus, on 07/04/2008, -0/+9Is it shrinking or do they just need to adjust their facts about its actual size?
  • trenchcoat, on 07/04/2008, -7/+14But Uranus is expanding.
  • rationalist, on 07/04/2008, -0/+6All these worlds are yours, except Mercury. Attempt no landings there.
  • PocchieTheMan, on 07/04/2008, -1/+75 Billion miles? Aren't we only 93 million miles from the sun? What am I missing?
  • TripNasty, on 07/04/2008, -0/+6The space probes travel in orbits and have already made several passes in those orbits. The Messenger probe has already travelled around Venus twice and the earth once on it's way to Mercury. They don't travel in a linear path.
  • SEANWOOKIE, on 07/04/2008, -0/+5It was in the pool!!
  • specialK16, on 07/04/2008, -0/+5"Do women know about shrinkage?"
    "What do you mean, like laundry?"
    "No..."
    "Like when a man goes swimming... Afterwards..."
    "It shrinks?"
    "Like a frightened turtle."
    "Why does it shrink?"
    "It just does."
    "I don't know how you guys walk around with those things."
  • Hoody28405, on 07/04/2008, -0/+4Dugg for shrinkage.
  • mingohills, on 07/04/2008, -0/+4Does this change my horoscope??
  • friday1970, on 07/04/2008, -0/+4First thing I thought when I read about this is that someone will like this to human made global warming and be serious about it. I'm sure glad diggers didn't disappoint.
  • carpespasm, on 07/04/2008, -1/+5it's plenty cold on the night side.
  • sirber, on 07/04/2008, -1/+4I'm raising funds to save Mercury. Who's with me?
  • smitas, on 07/04/2008, -1/+4Will it vanish?
  • inactive, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3I WAS IN THE POOL! I WAS IN THE POOL!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cUNNKzj_Nc
  • opmike, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3What?
  • bosssmiley, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3It makes sense if you think about it though; energetic expansion and that...
  • bosssmiley, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3That wouldn't stop Indians. I mean, have you seen some of the rougher parts of Bombay? After that *anything* is an improvement
  • SpongeBad, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2Its size depends on the gender of the measurer.
  • zerries, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2get over it
  • Soniti, on 07/04/2008, -2/+4I was thinking the exact same thing. Wouldn't that make mercury further away than us? And Venus? And Mars...? And the asteroid belt..?

    What the *****?
  • carpespasm, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2I wonder how much of an effect having solar storms blast at it without any atmosphere to speak of blows off material. Gravity probably just pulls it back in I would guess.
  • Vosona, on 07/04/2008, -1/+3Not when you're right next to the ***** sun.
  • celerityfm, on 07/04/2008, -3/+5(2010) IT'S SHRINKING!!!!!! (/2010)
  • norman619, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2Just put on a concert. Works for everything else.
  • brownspank, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2No, putting up an online petition works best. Trust me.
  • Soval, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2The perihelion precession (I think that's what you mean) can't be caused by the shrinking because of the conservation of angular momentum (and there are of course a lot of other proofs for General Relativity).
  • soogy, on 07/04/2008, -1/+3It's actually freezing out in most of space. Shrinkage ahoy.
  • bakshi, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2I was waiting for the 2010 comment.

    Maybe it's going to become a second sun!!!
  • noen, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2You're digging yourself down?
  • Fergy, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2How could it not be active when the Sun keeps trying to tear it apart?
  • tinselt0wn, on 07/04/2008, -1/+3Dugg up because I want everyone to see the irony.
  • apzdsx, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1The use of words expressing something other than their literal intention...

    Now that... is... irony!
  • inactive, on 07/04/2008, -8/+9I see a trend...
    Shrinking like the US economy, median IQ quotient, and youth fitness level !!!
  • Vosona, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1Thank McDonald's for that.


    ...I killed it, didn't I?
  • apzdsx, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1The use of words expressing something other than their literal intention...

    Now that... is... irony!
  • krisscofield, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1LOL @ "Crust Buckling"
  • Daxx22, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1How very ironic.
  • veijeri, on 07/04/2008, -1/+2And Leon is getting larger.
  • angryredplanet, on 07/04/2008, -1/+2Fail
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