Why do we think Mercury has so many tremendous cliffs? A. They were probably carved in Mercury's early history by running water. B. They are almost certainly volcanic in origin, carved by flowing lava. C. They represent one of the greatest mysteries in the solar system, as no one has suggested a reasonable hypothesis for their formation. D. They probably formed when a series of large impacts hit Mercury one after the other. E. They were probably formed by tectonic stresses when the entire planet shrank as its core cooled.

Question

Keyon Wolf

Physics

5 November, 18:39

Why do we think Mercury has so many tremendous cliffs? A. They were probably carved in Mercury's early history by running water. B. They are almost certainly volcanic in origin, carved by flowing lava. C. They represent one of the greatest mysteries in the solar system, as no one has suggested a reasonable hypothesis for their formation. D. They probably formed when a series of large impacts hit Mercury one after the other. E. They were probably formed by tectonic stresses when the entire planet shrank as its core cooled.

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Jellybean · Answer 1

E.

Explanation:

Mercury is the first and the smallest planet of the solar system. It has the smallest radius of rotation. And temperature in the planet is quite high. Mercury has so many tremendous cliffs because they were probably formed by tectonic stresses when the entire planet shrank as its core cooled. So its crust mus have contracted.