The source of the significant water ice deposits hidden in Mercury’s polar regions has been a topic of debate among researchers. A new study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, suggests that these deposits were accumulated in only one Mercurian day (176 Earth days) by a large impactor, such as a comet or asteroid. While previous studies have suggested a similar scenario, this is the first study to fully model the impact. Furthermore, these new models suggest that the impactor may have been larger and slower than previously suggested.
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