EarthSky’s 2026 lunar calendar is now available. Get it now! Makes a great gift.
Mercury’s strange stripes suggest an active world
New research suggests that reports of Mercury’s death were greatly exaggerated.
Until now, scientists have believed that Mercury is a geologically inactive and dead world, due to its barren and unchanging surface. But recently, researchers have found evidence that geological processes continue to shape the surface of the Sun’s innermost planet.
By analyzing images captured by satellites orbiting Mercury, messenger From 2011 to 2015, scientists discovered and mapped parts of the spacecraft. 400 lines – Strange, bright streaks – scattered across Mercury.
Researchers believe these streaks were created by volatile matter ejected from beneath the planet’s surface. And this geological activity is likely to continue today, they said.
A research team from the University of Bern and the Padova Observatory (INAF) published The survey results as of January 27, 2026 are: peer reviewed journal Nature Communication Earth and Environment.
Mercury’s strange bright stripes
This exciting discovery comes from mapping the first-ever family tree on Mercury. Lineae is an umbrella term that refers to long patterns on the world’s surface. These features have been observed throughout the solar system, most notably Mars and Jupiter’s satellites europa. Although several lineages had been discovered on Mercury before this study, there wasn’t enough documentation for scientists to identify the processes behind them.
That is why this research team Valentin Bickel Researchers from the University of Bern set out to carry out the first comprehensive survey of plant families in the innermost world of the solar system. Bickel explained:
Until now, Mercury’s lineage had not been systematically mapped and studied. Only a handful of stripes were known. Image analysis allowed us to create the first census, or systematic inventory, of Mercury’s slope stripes.
The research team used machine learning to analyze approximately 100,000 images taken by NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft. Their research revealed that Mercury has about 400 of these strange stripes. After mapping their distribution around the globe, researchers noticed an interesting trend.
Solar powered activities
On Mercury, the stripes are primarily seen on the sun-facing slopes of the youngest impact craters. This shows two processes.
When a space rock collides with Mercury, it appears to create a channel in the rock through which volatile materials (materials that easily evaporate and escape into space) escape. This eruption of gaseous material is known as: gas release. Bickel explained:
Volatiles can reach the surface from deeper layers through networks of cracks in the rock created by previous impacts.
Most of the stripes appear to arise from so-called bright depressions. dimple. These cavities are also probably formed by outgassing of volatile materials and are usually located in shallow interiors or along the rims of large impact craters.
Impacts that form craters therefore provide a pathway for these materials (mainly sulfur and other light elements) to escape. But the fact that stripes were found in the exposed, sunlit parts of these craters provides another clue. Radiation from the sun appears to be stirring up these chemicals and helping pull them out of Mercury’s interior.
The combination of these two processes causes ongoing geological changes on a planet that appeared dormant. Bickel summed it up as follows:
Our discovery paints a very different and dynamic picture of the supposedly dead, dry, and boring planet Mercury.
Deepen your understanding of Mercury
This lineage also has the potential to reveal how geological activity affects Mercury. Bickel explained:
Because Mercury’s stripes are likely caused by the outgassing of volatile materials, they could be a promising indicator of Mercury’s “volatility budget,” or how much volatile material the planet is continually losing.
As a Japanese of European descent, this is a great opportunity to explore this geological change on Mercury. bepicolombo The mission is headed to study Mercury up close. Launched in 2018, BepiColombo is already performing 6 flybys But its real science mission will begin soon after it enters orbit around Mercury in late 2026.
BepiColombo will study Mercury’s composition, atmosphere, and magnetic field in unprecedented detail. Additionally, a new map of the planet’s surface will be created. Bickel and his team can compare the new map with the Messenger images and uncover new stripes that have appeared over the past decade. By comparing MESSENGER and BepiColombo data, researchers will be able to learn whether this planet, once thought dead, is active and alive.
Conclusion: New analysis of bright streaks on Mercury’s surface suggests this world has been thought of for many years diedis geologically active.
Source: Slope line as a potential indicator of Mercury’s recent volatile loss
Read more: Mercury was born in a massive grazing collision, according to new theory