Mercury's Magnetosphere After MESSENGER's First Flyby

Details Mercury's Magnetosphere After MESSENGER's First Flyby Mercury's Magnetosphere After MESSENGER's First Flyby

Jul 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008sci...321...85s&link_type=abstract

Science, Volume 321, Issue 5885, pp. 85- (2008).

Computer Science

51

Scientific paper

Observations by MESSENGER show that Mercury's magnetosphere is immersed in a comet-like cloud of planetary ions. The most abundant, Na+, is broadly distributed but exhibits flux maxima in the magnetosheath, where the local plasma flow speed is high, and near the spacecraft’s closest approach, where atmospheric density should peak. The magnetic field showed reconnection signatures in the form of flux transfer events, azimuthal rotations consistent with Kelvin-Helmholtz waves along the magnetopause, and extensive ultralow-frequency wave activity. Two outbound current sheet boundaries were observed, across which the magnetic field decreased in a manner suggestive of a double magnetopause. The separation of these current layers, comparable to the gyro-radius of a Na+ pickup ion entering the magnetosphere after being accelerated in the magnetosheath, may indicate a planetary ion boundary layer.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Mercury's Magnetosphere After MESSENGER's First Flyby does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Mercury's Magnetosphere After MESSENGER's First Flyby, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Mercury's Magnetosphere After MESSENGER's First Flyby will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-788680