Mercury's Complex Exosphere: Results from MESSENGER's Third Flyby

被引:62
作者
Vervack, Ronald J., Jr. [1 ]
McClintock, William E. [2 ]
Killen, Rosemary M. [3 ]
Sprague, Ann L. [4 ]
Anderson, Brian J. [1 ]
Burger, Matthew H. [3 ]
Bradley, E. Todd [5 ]
Mouawad, Nelly [6 ]
Solomon, Sean C. [7 ]
Izenberg, Noam R. [1 ]
机构
[1] Johns Hopkins Univ, Appl Phys Lab, Laurel, MD 20723 USA
[2] Univ Colorado, Atmospher & Space Phys Lab, Boulder, CO 80303 USA
[3] NASA, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA
[4] Univ Arizona, Lunar & Planetary Lab, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
[5] Univ Cent Florida, Dept Phys, Orlando, FL 32816 USA
[6] Univ Maryland, Dept Astron, College Pk, MD 20742 USA
[7] Carnegie Inst Washington, Dept Terr Magnetism, Washington, DC 20015 USA
关键词
SOLAR-WIND INTERACTION; MAGNETOSPHERE; SODIUM; SURFACE; ACCELERATION; ATMOSPHERE; DISCOVERY; EMISSION; MISSION; CALCIUM;
D O I
10.1126/science.1188572
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
During MESSENGER's third flyby of Mercury, the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer detected emission from ionized calcium concentrated 1 to 2 Mercury radii tailward of the planet. This measurement provides evidence for tailward magnetospheric convection of photoions produced inside the magnetosphere. Observations of neutral sodium, calcium, and magnesium above the planet's north and south poles reveal altitude distributions that are distinct for each species. A two-component sodium distribution and markedly different magnesium distributions above the two poles are direct indications that multiple processes control the distribution of even single species in Mercury's exosphere.
引用
收藏
页码:672 / 675
页数:4
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