Physics
Scientific paper
May 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agusm.u31a..01s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2008, abstract #U31A-01
Physics
2744 Magnetotail, 2756 Planetary Magnetospheres (5443, 5737, 6033), 2784 Solar Wind/Magnetosphere Interactions, 6939 Magnetospheric Physics (2700), 7924 Forecasting (2722)
Scientific paper
MESSENGER's 14 January 2008 encounter with Mercury has provided new observations of the magnetopause of this small magnetosphere, particularly concerning the effect of the direction of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) on the structure and dynamics of this boundary. The IMF was northward immediately prior to and following the passage of the MESSENGER spacecraft through Mercury's magnetosphere. However, several-minute episodes of southward IMF were observed in the magnetosheath during the inbound portion of the encounter. Evidence for reconnection at the dayside magnetopause in the form of well-developed flux transfer events (FTEs) was observed in the magnetosheath following some of these southward-Bz intervals. The inbound magnetopause crossing seen in the magnetic field measurements is consistent with a transition from the magnetosheath into the plasma sheet. Immediately following MESSENGER's entry into the magnetosphere, rotational perturbations in the magnetic field similar to those seen at the Earth in association with large-scale plasma sheet vortices driven by Kelvin-Helmholtz waves along the magnetotail boundary at the Earth were observed. The outbound magnetopause occurred during northward IMF Bz and had the characteristics of a tangential discontinuity. These new observations by MESSENGER may be combined and compared with the magnetopause measurements collected by Mariner 10 to derive new understanding of the response of Mercury's magnetopause to IMF direction and its effect on the rate of solar wind energy and mass input to this small magnetosphere.
Acuña Mario Humberto
Anderson Benjamin J.
Baker Daniel N.
Benna Marcus
Boardsen Scott A.
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