Mercury still tectonically active, researchers saySeptember 28, 2016 - 11:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Smithsonian researchers combing through high-resolution images from NASA's Messenger spacecraft have determined that Mercury is still tectonically active. To date, Earth has been the only planet in the Solar System known to demonstrate tectonic activity, Engadget reports. The team spotted many relatively young fault scarps (surface offsets), which are strong indicators that the minuscule planet's crust is still shrinking as the core cools down. As Gizmodo notes, common wisdom previously dictated that Mercury's interior would have settled down billions of years ago. Messenger also picked up signs of a magnetic field, which you should see in a planet where at least some of the core is still molten and thus active. This doesn't meant that Mercury's activity is a carbon copy of what you see on Earth. There are no tectonic plates shuffling around, so you're not about to see continents or other familiar features. The shrinking crust might be triggering quakes even now, however, and it might only take a seismic probe to confirm that the planet is rumbling. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Armenia-Azerbaijan: Experts launch work on determining coordinates Expert groups from the countries started the process of determining the coordinates based on geodetic measurements. Yerevan says did not expect CSTO in peacekeeping role Pashinyan has declared that the CSTO would be expected to come to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as an ally of Armenia Henrikh Mkhitaryan wins Serie A title with Inter Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits that the team have long been imagining clinching Serie A against AC Milan. Armenia not going to war over Karabakh, says Pashinyan Armenia is not preparing to fight a war for Nagorno Karabakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview. |