THEMIS Na exosphere observations of Mercury and their correlation with in-situ magnetic field measurements by MESSENGER

Mangano, V.; Massetti, S.; Milillo, A.; Plainaki, C.; Orsini, S.; Rispoli, Rosanna; Leblanc, François

doi:10.1016/j.pss.2015.04.001

Cited by 34 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Our B X correlation results are inconsistent with models (Massetti et al, ; Sarantos et al, ), where the results indicate the opposite correlation of + B X conditions in IMF favoring the southern cusp (we observe − B X conditions favoring the southern mantle and therefore the southern cusp). However, observations of exospheric sodium emission and their correlation to the IMF (specifically B X ) agree with our results (Mangano et al, ; Massetti et al, ). Mangano et al () had the strongest correlation (78%) to their observation of enhanced emission in the northern exosphere with + B X and also more frequent (73%) when the IMF had large magnitudes (>25 nT).…”

Section: Observationssupporting

confidence: 93%

“…However, observations of exospheric sodium emission and their correlation to the IMF (specifically B X ) agree with our results (Mangano et al, ; Massetti et al, ). Mangano et al () had the strongest correlation (78%) to their observation of enhanced emission in the northern exosphere with + B X and also more frequent (73%) when the IMF had large magnitudes (>25 nT). Massetti et al () also mentioned that they observe a B X correlation that is opposite to the previous modeling work; however, they do not discuss this further.…”

Section: Observationssupporting

confidence: 93%

“…We also find that − B X IMF conditions favor the southern mantle and therefore southern cusp. This agrees with previous results using remote sodium exospheric emission observations (Mangano et al, ; Massetti et al, ) but disagrees with previous modeling investigating this correlation (Massetti et al, ; Sarantos et al, ). We suggest that previous modeling results do not agree with the growing body of observational results because they do not explicitly focus their investigation into exploring this effect and therefore lack consistency between model runs.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

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Mercury's Solar Wind Interaction as Characterized by Magnetospheric Plasma Mantle Observations With MESSENGER

et al. 2017

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We analyze 94 traversals of Mercury's southern magnetospheric plasma mantle using data from the MESSENGER spacecraft. The mean and median proton number densities in the mantle are 1.5 and 1.3 cm−3, respectively. For sodium number density these values are 0.004 and 0.002 cm−3. Moderately higher densities are observed on the magnetospheric dusk side. The mantle supplies up to 1.5 × 108 cm−2 s−1 and 0.8 × 108 cm−2 s−1 of proton and sodium flux to the plasma sheet, respectively. We estimate the cross‐electric magnetospheric potential from each observation and find a mean of ~19 kV (standard deviation of 16 kV) and a median of ~13 kV. This is an important result as it is lower than previous estimations and shows that Mercury's magnetosphere is at times not as highly driven by the solar wind as previously thought. Our values are comparable to the estimations for the ice giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, but lower than Earth. The estimated potentials do have a very large range of values (1–74 kV), showing that Mercury's magnetosphere is highly dynamic. A correlation of the potential is found to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) magnitude, supporting evidence that dayside magnetic reconnection can occur at all shear angles at Mercury. But we also see that Mercury has an Earth‐like magnetospheric response, favoring −BZ IMF orientation. We find evidence that −BX orientations in the IMF favor the southern cusp and southern mantle. This is in agreement with telescopic observations of exospheric emission, but in disagreement with modeling.

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Section: Observationssupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Observationssupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

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Mercury's Solar Wind Interaction as Characterized by Magnetospheric Plasma Mantle Observations With MESSENGER

et al. 2017

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“…MESSENGER Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS)/ultraviolet and visible spectrometer (UVVS) regularly observed exospheric sodium D 1 and D 2 emission for more than 16 Mercury years. Unlike ground‐based observations, which excel at characterizing latitudinal asymmetries [e.g., Mangano et al ., ], most UVVS lines of sight were sensitive to low latitudes. Although this missed the high‐latitude emission peaks reported by ground‐based observers, it did provide unprecedented coverage of the exosphere's local‐time structure and seasonal variability.…”

Section: Messenger Mascs/uvvs Observations Of the Sodium Exosphere's mentioning

confidence: 99%

A cold‐pole enhancement in Mercury's sodium exosphere

Cassidy

McClintock

Killen

et al. 2016

Geophysical Research Letters

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The ultraviolet and visible spectrometer component of the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer on the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft characterized the local‐time distribution of the sodium exosphere over the course of its orbital mission. The observations show that the sodium exosphere is enhanced above Mercury's cold‐pole longitudes. Based on previously published sodium exosphere models, we infer that these regions act as night side surface reservoirs, temporary sinks to the exosphere that collect sodium atoms transported antisunward. The reservoirs are revealed as exospheric enhancements when they are exposed to sunlight. As in the models the reservoir is depleted as the cold poles rotate from dawn to dusk, but unlike the models the depletion is only partial. The persistence of the reservoir means that it could, over the course of geologically long periods of time, contribute to an increase in the bulk concentration of sodium near the cold‐pole longitudes.

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“…Depending on both Sun's activity and distance along the eccentric orbit of Mercury, the exosphere varies both in intensity and morphology (e.g. Killen & Ip 1999;Mangano et al 2015); in addition, the radiation pressure produces a Na tail with an elongation variation from a few R M up to more than a thousand R M (Potter et al 2002;Schmidt et al 2010). In Figure 22a, some examples of Na variability in the disk are shown.…”

Section: Space Weather At Mercurymentioning

confidence: 99%

Planetary space weather: scientific aspects and future perspectives

Plainaki

Lilensten

Radioti

et al. 2016

J. Space Weather Space Clim.

Self Cite

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In this paper, we review the scientific aspects of planetary space weather at different regions of our Solar System, performing a comparative planetology analysis that includes a direct reference to the circum-terrestrial case. Through an interdisciplinary analysis of existing results based both on observational data and theoretical models, we review the nature of the interactions between the environment of a Solar System body other than the Earth and the impinging plasma/radiation, and we offer some considerations related to the planning of future space observations. We highlight the importance of such comparative studies for data interpretations in the context of future space missions (e.g. ESA JUICE; ESA/JAXA BEPI COLOMBO). Moreover, we discuss how the study of planetary space weather can provide feedback for better understanding the traditional circumterrestrial space weather. Finally, a strategy for future global investigations related to this thematic is proposed.

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THEMIS Na exosphere observations of Mercury and their correlation with in-situ magnetic field measurements by MESSENGER

Cited by 34 publications

References 29 publications

Mercury's Solar Wind Interaction as Characterized by Magnetospheric Plasma Mantle Observations With MESSENGER

Mercury's Solar Wind Interaction as Characterized by Magnetospheric Plasma Mantle Observations With MESSENGER

A cold‐pole enhancement in Mercury's sodium exosphere

Planetary space weather: scientific aspects and future perspectives

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