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MESSENGER Observation of Mercury's Magnetopause: Structure and DynamicsMESSENGER'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-B, 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 B(sub z) 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.
Document ID
20080030344
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Slavin, J. A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Acuna, M. H.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Anderson, B. J.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
Baker, D. N.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Benna, M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Boardsen, S. A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Gloeckler, G.
(Michigan Univ. Ann Arbor, MI, United States)
Gold, R. E.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
Ho, G. C.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
Korth, H.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
Krimigis, S. M.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
Livi, S. A.
(Southwest Research Inst. San Antonio, TX, United States)
McNutt, R. L., Jr.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
Raines, J. M.
(Michigan Univ. Ann Arbor, MI, United States)
Sarantos, M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Schriver, D.
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Solomon, S. C.
(Carnegie Institution of Washington Washington, DC, United States)
Travnicek, P.
(Astronomical Inst. Prague, Czech Republic)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2008
Subject Category
Space Sciences (General)
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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