LINDSAY , Simon

Rocky objects in the Solar System (such as planets, asteroids, moons, and comets) undergo a complex interaction with the ow of magnetized, supersonic plasma emitted from the Sun called solar wind. We address the interaction of such a ow with the planet Mercury, considered here as the archetype of a weakly magnetized, airless, telluric body...

Mercury is the archetype of a weakly magnetized, airless, telluric body immersed in the solar wind. Due to the lack of any substantial atmosphere, the solar wind directly precipitates on Mercury's surface. Using a 3D fully-kinetic self-consistent plasma model, we show for the first time that solarwind electron precipitation drives (i) efficient...

Mercury is the only telluric planet of the solar system, other than Earth, with an intrinsic magnetic field. Thus, the Hermean surface is shielded from the impinging solar wind via an "Earth-like" magnetosphere. This magnetic cavity is however twenty times smaller than its counterpart at the Earth and Mercury occupies a large portion of this...

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, possesses a weak intrinsic magnetic field, and has only a very tenuous atmosphere (exosphere). These three conditions result in a direct coupling between the plasma emitted from the Sun (namely, the solar wind) and Mercury's surface. The planet's magnetic field leads to a nontrivial pattern of plasma...