Document Detail


MESSENGER observations of magnetic reconnection in Mercury's magnetosphere.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19407194     Owner:  NLM     Status:  PubMed-not-MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Solar wind energy transfer to planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres is controlled by magnetic reconnection, a process that determines the degree of connectivity between the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and a planet's magnetic field. During MESSENGER's second flyby of Mercury, a steady southward IMF was observed and the magnetopause was threaded by a strong magnetic field, indicating a reconnection rate ~10 times that typical at Earth. Moreover, a large flux transfer event was observed in the magnetosheath, and a plasmoid and multiple traveling compression regions were observed in Mercury's magnetotail, all products of reconnection. These observations indicate that Mercury's magnetosphere is much more responsive to IMF direction and dominated by the effects of reconnection than that of Earth or the other magnetized planets.
Authors:
James A Slavin; Mario H Acuña; Brian J Anderson; Daniel N Baker; Mehdi Benna; Scott A Boardsen; George Gloeckler; Robert E Gold; George C Ho; Haje Korth; Stamatios M Krimigis; Ralph L McNutt; Jim M Raines; Menelaos Sarantos; David Schriver; Sean C Solomon; Pavel Trávnícek; Thomas H Zurbuchen
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Science (New York, N.Y.)     Volume:  324     ISSN:  1095-9203     ISO Abbreviation:  Science     Publication Date:  2009 May 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-05-01     Completed Date:  2009-05-13     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0404511     Medline TA:  Science     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  606-10     Citation Subset:  -    
Affiliation:
Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. james.a.slavin@nasa.gov
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Comments/Corrections
Comment In:
Science. 2009 May 1;324(5927):597-8   [PMID:  19407187 ]

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