Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 4 July 2008:
Vol. 321. no. 5885, pp. 92 - 94
DOI: 10.1126/science.1159467
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Mercury's Exosphere: Observations During MESSENGER's First Mercury Flyby

William E. McClintock,1* E. Todd Bradley,2 Ronald J. Vervack, Jr.,3 Rosemary M. Killen,4 Ann L. Sprague,5 Noam R. Izenberg,3 Sean C. Solomon6

During MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby, the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer measured Mercury's exospheric emissions, including those from the antisunward sodium tail, calcium and sodium close to the planet, and hydrogen at high altitudes on the dayside. Spatial variations indicate that multiple source and loss processes generate and maintain the exosphere. Energetic processes connected to the solar wind and magnetospheric interaction with the planet likely played an important role in determining the distributions of exospheric species during the flyby.

1 Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA.
2 Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
3 Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA.
4 Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
5 Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
6 Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC 20015, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: william.mcclintock{at}lasp.colorado.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Return to Mercury: A Global Perspective on MESSENGER's First Mercury Flyby.
S. C. Solomon, R. L. McNutt Jr., T. R. Watters, D. J. Lawrence, W. C. Feldman, J. W. Head, S. M. Krimigis, S. L. Murchie, R. J. Phillips, J. A. Slavin, et al. (2008)
Science 321, 59-62
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Mercury's Magnetosphere After MESSENGER's First Flyby.
J. A. Slavin, M. H. Acuna, B. J. Anderson, D. N. Baker, M. Benna, G. Gloeckler, R. E. Gold, G. C. Ho, R. M. Killen, H. Korth, et al. (2008)
Science 321, 85-89
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
MESSENGER Observations of the Composition of Mercury's Ionized Exosphere and Plasma Environment.
T. H. Zurbuchen, J. M. Raines, G. Gloeckler, S. M. Krimigis, J. A. Slavin, P. L. Koehn, R. M. Killen, A. L. Sprague, R. L. McNutt Jr., and S. C. Solomon (2008)
Science 321, 90-92
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)