> Previous estimates suggested that Mercury had shrunk by just a few miles since its formation. Now, scientists say it is shrinking up to 30 percent faster than expected. It might have even shrunk by as much as 14.5 miles, which is nearly one percent of its current radius of 1,516 miles.

Less than 1% over 4.6 billion years, at that proximity to the sun, ain't that bad. The sun is expected to swallow Mercury in about 5 billion years, so it's going to meet a violent end long before it evaporates away into nothingness.

Faster than we thought ?

Why do they say these things - when most people havent a clue or opinion if or why Mercury is shrinking.

Obvious theory - Mercury captured a primordial black hole in the recent past, and is slowly being devoured from the inside.

(Yes, the energy released by that process would quickly get very obvious. If you've got a passable hand-wave, audiences are very forgiving of plot holes in SciFi.)

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