MESSENGER Observations of the Spatial Distribution of Planetary Ions Near Mercury

Details MESSENGER Observations of the Spatial Distribution of Planetary Ions Near Mercury MESSENGER Observations of the Spatial Distribution of Planetary Ions Near Mercury

Sep 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011sci...333.1862z&link_type=abstract

Science, Volume 333, Issue 6051, pp. 1862- (2011).

Physics

5

Scientific paper

Global measurements by MESSENGER of the fluxes of heavy ions at Mercury, particularly sodium (Na+) and oxygen (O+), exhibit distinct maxima in the northern magnetic-cusp region, indicating that polar regions are important sources of Mercury’s ionized exosphere, presumably through solar-wind sputtering near the poles. The observed fluxes of helium (He+) are more evenly distributed, indicating a more uniform source such as that expected from evaporation from a helium-saturated surface. In some regions near Mercury, especially the nightside equatorial region, the Na+ pressure can be a substantial fraction of the proton pressure.

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