The space environment of Mercury at the times of the second and third MESSENGER flybys

The second and third flybys of Mercury by the MESSENGER spacecraft occurred, respectively, on 6 October 2008 and on 29 September 2009. In order to provide contextual information about the solar wind properties and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) near the planet at those times, we have used an empirical modeling technique combined with a numerical physics-based solar wind model. The Wang–Sheeley–Arge (WSA) method uses solar photospheric magnetic field observations (from Earth-based instruments) in order to estimate the inner heliospheric radial flow speed and radial magnetic field out to 21.5 solar radii from the Sun. This information is then used as input to the global numerical magnetohydrodynamic model, ENLIL, which calculates solar wind velocity, density, temperature, and magnetic field strength and polarity throughout the inner heliosphere. WSA-ENLIL calculations are presented for the several-week period encompassing the second and third flybys. This information, in conjunction with available MESSENGER data, aid in understanding the Mercury flyby observations and provide a basis for global magnetospheric modeling. We find that during both flybys, the solar wind conditions were very quiescent and would have provided only modest dynamic driving forces for Mercury's magnetospheric system.     

Magnetic fields and plasmas in the inner heliosphere: Helios results

The magnetic field of Mercury and the structure and dynamics of Mercury's magnetosphere, which will be studied by the spacecraft orbiting Mercury, are strongly influenced by the interaction of the solar wind with Mercury. In order to understand the internal magnetic field, it will be necessary to correct the observations of the external field for the distortions produced by the solar wind. Understanding of the solar wind interaction with Mercury is essential for understanding the structure and dynamics of the magnetosphere and phenomena such as magnetic storms. Helios 1 and 2 made a number of passes in the region traversed by the orbit of Mercury, and each pass provided a sample of the solar wind environment of Mercury. This paper reviews the plasma and magnetic field observations from Helios that provide a general basis for interpreting the observations of Mercury that will be made by orbiting spacecraft. The variables that govern the structure and dynamics of the magnetospheres of Mercury and Earth are approximately 5–10 times larger at Mercury than at Earth. Thus, the solar wind interaction with Mercury will be much stronger than the interaction with Earth. Moreover, the solar wind at Mercury is probably more variable than that at Earth. There is a clear need for measurements of the solar wind during the approach of spacecraft to Mercury and while they are in orbit around Mercury.     

Transits of Mercury: Results of Belgrade Observations in 1970 and 1973

Photographic observations of the transits of Mercury over the solar disk in 1970 and 1973 at the Belgrade Observatory were used not only in order to determine the classical parameters, as the times of contacts and least distances to determine the apparent radii of the Sun and Mercury. The mean value of the Sun's semi-diameter reduced to the distance unit differs from AUWERS value by about 1.3 while the Mercury's radius is in good agreement with LE VERRIER 's value. On the basis of quite homogenous observational material and precise observing data it was possible to derive the parallax of the Sun by means of the angular distance changes due to the parallactic effect in the course of transit. The values are determined as: 8.800 ± 0.008 (1970) and 8.788 ± 0.032 (1973). The mean value resulting from the two transits is πs = 8.794 ± 0.013, an amount in striking agreement with that currently used.     

Mapping of the cusp plasma precipitation on the surface of Mercury

The presence of a magnetosphere around Mercury plays a fundamental role on the way the solar wind plasma interacts with the planet. Since the observations suggest that Mercury should occupy a large fraction of its magnetosphere and because of lack of an atmosphere, significant differences in solar wind-magnetosphere coupling are expected to exist with respect to the Earth case. On the basis of a modified Tsyganenko T96 model we describe the geometry of the magnetic field that could characterize Mercury, and its response to the variations of the impinging solar wind and of the interplanetary magnetic field. The investigation is focused on the shape and dimension of the open magnetic field regions (cusps) that allow the direct penetration of magnetosheath plasma through the exosphere of Mercury, down to its surface. The precipitating particle flux and energy are evaluated as a function of the open field line position, according to different solar wind conditions. A target of this study is the evaluation of the sputtered particles from the crust of the planet, and their contribution to the exospheric neutral particle populations. Such estimates are valuable in the frame of a neutral particle analyser to be proposed on board of the ESA/BepiColombo mission.     

Particle populations in Mercury's magnetosphere

Observations by Mariner 10 during its first and third flybys showed that Mercury possesses an intrinsic magnetic field resulting in a small magnetosphere that can keep the solar wind from directly interacting with the planet's surface under usual conditions. Since Mercury occupies a large fraction of its magnetosphere, regions of trapped charged particles in the inner magnetosphere, the plasmasphere and the energetic radiation belts, would all be absent. During the first flyby, energetic particle bursts were detected and interpreted as hermean substroms analogous to the terrestrial magnetosphere. Moreover, during this flyby, ULF waves and field-aligned currents were detected in the data. Earth-based observations of Na, K, and Ca populations in the exosphere strongly suggest the existence of dynamic magnetospheric processes at high latitudes interacting with the planet's surface.     

Observations of the sodium tail of Mercury

Cross-sections of the sodium emission tail of Mercury were measured at various distances down the tail when Mercury was moving away from the Sun (true anomaly angles <180°), and again when Mercury was moving towards the Sun (true anomaly angles >180°). As predicted in early modeling studies, significant differences were expected between these two cases, as the result of Doppler shifts to higher solar intensity in the former case, and to lower solar intensity for the latter case. For observations with Mercury moving away from the Sun, the sodium tail was observed out to about 40,000 kilometers (16 Mercury radii, RM) downstream, expanding, on average, at a rate of 1.9±0.3 km/s. The source rates for sodium generation from Mercury into the tail were found to be in the range 2-5×¹⁰²³ atoms/s, corresponding to between 1 and 10% of the estimated total sodium production rate on the planet. The limiting value of radiation acceleration required to produce an observable sodium tail was estimated to be 112±24 cm/s². For observations where Mercury was moving towards the Sun, the emission intensity in the sodium tail decreased very rapidly with distance downstream, disappearing entirely beyond 12,000 (6 RM) kilometers for radiation accelerations of 128.7 and 135.4 cm/s². For smaller radiation accelerations, the sodium tail was not detectable at all, yielding a limiting value for tail generation of about 122±2 cm/s². Interpretation of the limiting radiation acceleration values suggests that the process that generates the sodium tail yields atoms with energies greater than 3 eV. Particle sputtering is the most reasonable source process.     

The GREGOR Fabry‐Pérot Interferometer

The GREGOR Fabry‐Pérot Interferometer (GFPI) is one of three first‐light instruments of the German 1.5‐meter GREGOR solar telescope at the Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, Spain. The GFPI uses two tunable etalons in collimated mounting. Thanks to its large‐format, high‐cadence CCD detectors with sophisticated computer hard‐ and software it is capable of scanning spectral lines with a cadence that is sufficient to capture the dynamic evolution of the solar atmosphere. The field‐of‐view (FOV) of 50″×38″is well suited for quiet Sun and sunspot observations. However, in the vector spectropolarimetric mode the FOV reduces to 25″×38″. The spectral coverage in the spectroscopic mode extends from 530–860 nm with a theoretical spectral resolution of R ≈250 000, whereas in the vector spectropolarimetric mode the wavelength range is at present limited to 580–660 nm. The combination of fast narrow‐band imaging and post‐factum image restoration has the potential for discovery science concerning the dynamic Sun and its magnetic field at spatial scales down to ∼50 km on the solar surface (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A Huge Basin in the Unknown Portion of Mercury in the 250°–290° W Longitude Range

A basin with an interior about 1000 km across and an outer rim about 2000 km in diameter has been found on the side of Mercury that remained unknown after theMariner 10imaging in 1973–1975. In its size, which is as much as 1/2 of the Mercury's diameter, this formation is one of the largest basins on the terrestrial planets. The presence of other large features of global dimension on this side of the planet suggests their possible asymmetric allocation on Mercury, similar to that on the Moon. New methods of ground-based astronomical observations including data processing with a special software package have been used.     

Fine structure of the sources of quasi-periodic pulsations in “single-loop” solar flares

Analysis of the observational data obtained with a high angular resolution in the ranges of vacuum ultraviolet (1″, TRACE) and hard X-ray (4″, RHESSI) emissions in some solar flares previously considered “single-loop” ones shows that they are not such flares. The thick single loops with a diameter of 13″–21″ observed in these flares in the microwave range with an angular resolution of 5″–10″ (NoRH) are actually arcades of thinner loops with a diameter of less than 3″. In this case, the observed quasi-periodic pulsations of microwave emission are not a consequence of the oscillations of an isolated thick loop, as is usually assumed, but a result of the successive involvement of many relatively thinner loops in the process of flare energy release. The established facts impose significant constraints on the generation models of pulsations in flares.     

Solar Radius Determination from Total Solar Eclipse Observations on 29 March 2006

Solar diameter measurements have been made nearly continuously through different techniques for more than three centuries. They were obtained mainly with ground-based instruments except for some recent estimates deduced from space observations. One of the main problems in such space data analysis is that, up to now, it has been difficult to obtain an absolute value owing to the absence of an internally calibrated system. Eclipse observations provide a unique opportunity to give an absolute angular scale to the measurements, leading to an absolute value of the solar diameter. However, the problem is complicated by the Moon limb, which presents asphericity because of the mountains. We present a determination of the solar diameter derived from the total solar eclipse observation in Turkey and Egypt on 29 March 2006. We found that the solar radius carried back to 1 AU was 959.22±0.04 arcsec at the time of the observations. The inspection of the compiled 19 modern eclipses data, with solar activity, shows that the radius changes are nonhomologous, an effect that may explain the discrepancies found in ground-based measurements and implies the role of the shallow subsurface layers (leptocline) of the Sun.     

The surface of Mercury from ground-based astronomical observations

Recent ground-based astronomical short-exposure observations of Mercury have yielded more than 50000 electronic pictures of the planet at different phases and different positions relative to the Earth. The work was fulfilled in several observatories. The use of available and newly developed processing methods applied to large volumes of electronic frames allowed the images of a considerable portion of Mercury’s surface to be synthesized. We present the images of the 90°–180°W, 215°–280°W, and 50°–90°W sectors containing, among others, the longitudes not covered by spacecraft imaging. Along with the listed images, we present the results of recent observations of Mercury carried out on November 20–24, 2006 during the morning elongation at the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SAO RAS) (Nizhnii Arkhyz, Karachai-Circassia, the Caucasus). The 265°–350°W longitude sector of Mercury was observed. The observations were made under good weather conditions. Among the main tasks of the new observations was obtaining a complete view of the S Basin. Previously, this basin had been investigated in fragments only by the actual solar illumination conditions. During the period of November 20–24, 2006, the S Basin was on the sunlit side of the planet. The complete image of the basin was obtained from the processing of a large number of electronic frames. The appearance of the S Basin is compared with the data on its relief acquired with radar methods. In this longitude sector, a number of other unusual surface features were found; among them, are a huge “Medallion” crater and other formations. The results considered in the present and earlier published studies are compared with the Mariner 10 data (1974–1975) and with the data received from the Messenger spacecraft during its first flyby of the planet (January 2008).     

The motion of major planets from observations 1769–1988 and some astronomical constants

Modern planetary theories may be considered as a realisation of a four-dimensional dynamical reference frame. The existence of secular trends between the dynamical system and the adopted system of the Fundamental Catalogue (as well as between time scales involved) has been studied by discussing planetary observations of different types and by comparison with a numerical theory constructed for the time span 1769–1988. Parameters of the theory were fitted to radar ranging data for 1961–1988 for inner planets and to meridian observations of 18^th–20^th centuries for outer planets. Then a set of the inner planet optical observations, which includes USNO meridian observations, transits through the solar disk and occultations of fundamental stars are discussed. The main results are the following:

1. Radar data were used to estimate the time derivative? of the gravitational constantG (in another interpretation, the secular trend between the atomic and dynamic time scales): $$\dot G/G = (0.37 \pm 0.45) \times 10^{ - 11} /y.$$ This estimation, being statistically insignificant, gives some physically meaningful restriction to?.
2. From the same data a new estimation of relativistic effects in the motion of Mercury was obtained, which has confirmed the Einstein value of the perihelion advance with the error 0″.06/cy. So in the frame of Einstein's theory the value of solar dynamic oblateness cannot be larger than 2×10^?6.
3. The analysis of time behavior of residuals in the inner planet longitudes shows secular trends. It is demonstrated that these trends may be explained by combined action of a linear trenddT of Brouwer's time scale (which is adopted as a standard for reduction of observations before 1959) and the error in Newcomb's value of the constant of precession. From USNO meridian observations fordT the following estimate was obtained:dT=?14.5±2.1 sec/cy with the corresponding correction,dp, to Newcomb's precessiondp=0″.46±0″.13/cy. The estimate ofdT is in good agreement with the value ofdT determined from transits of Mercury and Venus through the solar diskdT=?12.9±1.3 sec/cy which does not depend on any precession error.
4. As a by-product, new accurate ephemerides of the outer planets are obtained over the time interval 1769–1988, the average residuals being presented.

     

Sunspot intensity observations during the 9 May 1970 Mercury transit

The intensity of a sunspot was measured in eight wavelength regions during the Mercury transit of 9 May 1970. The observations have been corrected for scattered light in the Earth's atmosphere as well as in the instrument using two different methods plus a combination of these. One method consists of using Mercury as a calibration spot. In the second method the corrections for scattered light are determined from solar limb observations.     

The transition from complex crater to peak-ring basin on Mercury: New observations from MESSENGER flyby data and constraints on basin formation models

The study of peak-ring basins and other impact crater morphologies transitional between complex craters and multi-ring basins is important to our understanding of the mechanisms for basin formation on the terrestrial planets. Mercury has the largest population, and the largest population per area, of peak-ring basins and protobasins in the inner solar system and thus provides important data for examining questions surrounding peak-ring basin formation. New flyby images from the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft have more than doubled the area of Mercury viewed at close range, providing nearly complete global coverage of the planet's surface when combined with flyby data from Mariner 10. We use this new near-global dataset to compile a catalog of peak-ring basins and protobasins on Mercury, including measurements of the diameters of the basin rim crest, interior ring, and central peak (if present). Our catalog increases the population of peak-ring basins by ∼150% and protobasins by ∼100% over previous catalogs, including 44 newly identified peak-ring basins (total=74) and 17 newly identified protobasins (total=32). A newly defined transitional basin type, the ringed peak-cluster basin (total=9), is also described. The new basin catalog confirms that Mercury has the largest population of peak-ring basins of the terrestrial planets and also places the onset rim-crest diameter for peak-ring basins at , which is intermediate between the onset diameter for peak-ring basins on the Moon and those for the other terrestrial planets. The ratios of ring diameter to rim-crest diameter further emphasize that protobasins and peak-ring basins are parts of a continuum of basin morphologies relating to their processes of formation, in contrast to previous views that these forms are distinct. Comparisons of the predictions of peak-ring basin-formation models with the characteristics of the basin catalog for Mercury suggest that formation and modification of an interior melt cavity and nonlinear scaling of impact melt volume with crater diameter provide important controls on the development of peak rings. The relationship between impact-melt production and peak-ring formation is strengthened further by agreement between power laws fit to ratios of ring diameter to rim-crest diameter for peak-ring basins and protobasins and the power-law relation between the dimension of a melt cavity and the crater diameter. More detailed examination of Mercury's peak-ring basins awaits the planned insertion of the MESSENGER spacecraft into orbit about Mercury in 2011.     

TRACE observations of the 15 November 1999 transit of Mercury and the Black Drop effect: considerations for the 2004 transit of Venus

Historically, the visual manifestation of the “Black Drop effect,” the appearance of a band linking the solar limb to the disk of a transiting planet near the point of internal tangency, had limited the accuracy of the determination of the Astronomical Unit and the scale of the Solar System in the 18th and 19th centuries. This problem was misunderstood in the case of Venus during its rare transits due to the presence of its atmosphere. We report on observations of the 15 November 1999 transit of Mercury obtained, without the degrading effects of the Earth's atmosphere, with the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer spacecraft. In spite of the telescope's location beyond the Earth's atmosphere, and the absence of a significant mercurian atmosphere, a faint Black Drop effect was detected. After calibration and removal of, or compensation for, both internal and external systematic effects, the only radially directed brightness anisotropies found resulted from the convolution of the instrumental point-spread function with the solar limb-darkened, back-lit, illumination function. We discuss these effects in light of earlier ground-based observations of transits of Mercury and of Venus (also including the effects of atmospheric “seeing”) to explain the historical basis for the Black Drop effect. The methodologies we outline here for improving upon transit imagery are applicable to ground-based (adaptive optics augmented) and space-based observations of the 8 June 2004 and 5-6 June 2012 transits of Venus, providing a path to achieving high-precision measurements at and near the instants of internal limb tangencies.     

Mercury's exosphere origins and relations to its magnetosphere and surface

Mariner 10, the only spacecraft that ever passed close to Mercury, revealed several unexpected characteristics: an intrinsic magnetosphere, the highest mean density of any Solar System terrestrial planet and a very thin non-collisional atmosphere. Mercury's atmosphere is very poorly explored since only three atomic elements, H, He and O, were observed during the three flybys of Mariner 10. The measurements done by radio and solar occultations provided upper limits on the neutral and ion densities. These measurements pointed out the close connection between species in Mercury's exosphere and its surface, which is also the case for the Moon. Mariner 10 observations also characterized the vertical distributions and the day to night contrasts of Mercury's exosphere for its lightest components H and He (Broadfoot, A.L., et al., 1976. Mariner 10: Mercury atmosphere. Geophys. Res. Lett. 3, 577–580).More than a decade later, the first observation from a ground-based observatory of Mercury's sodium (Na) exospheric component was reported (Potter, A.E., Morgan, T.H., 1985. Discovery of sodium in the atmosphere of Mercury. Science 229, 651–653). Since then, potassium and more recently calcium have been identified in Mercury's exosphere. The bright Na resonant scattering emission has been often observed since 1985. This large set of observations is now the best source of information on Mercury's exospheric mechanisms of ejection, dynamics, sources and sinks. In particular, several of these observations provided evidence of prompt and delayed effects, both localized and global, for the very inhomogeneous Mercury's Na exosphere. These inhomogenities have been interpreted as the trace of Mercury's magnetosphere–solar wind interaction and have highlighted some of the main sources of exospheric material. Some of these features have been also interpreted as the trace of a global dayside to night side circulation of Mercury's exosphere and therefore have highlighted also the relation between exospheric production and upper surface composition.Hopefully, new sets of in situ measurements will be obtained within the next decade thanks to Messenger and Bepi-Colombo missions. Until then, ground-based observations and modelling will remain the only approaches to resolve questions on Mercury's exosphere. Mercury's exospheric composition and structure as they are presently known are described in this paper. The principal models for the main short and long times terms variations and local and global variations of Mercury's exosphere are described. The mechanisms of production and their characteristics are also given. Mercury's exosphere can also be seen as part of the coupled magnetosphere–upper surface–exosphere system and several of the links between these elements are essential to the interpretation of most of the ground-based observations. The relation between Mercury's planet composition and its exospheric composition is also considered, as is the global recycling, sources and sinks of Mercury's exosphere.     

Correction of solar observations for stray light by numerical integration,with application to Mercury's drop

A numerical method for correction of stray light in solar observations has been developed. In particular a regular sunspot, where the circular contours of penumbra and umbra are projected as ellipses, has been studied. When a specified set of values for the stray light parameters is given, and also tentative values for the relative intensities of penumbra and umbra, the integration of stray light can be performed in any point. The result will be the observable intensity if the conditions were as given by these initial values.By means of limb observations the stray light parameters may be improved, and finally a variation of the penumbra- and umbra intensities in the computation, enables a determination of these quantities by comparison with observations.The method is tested on observations of the transit of Mercury, May 9, 1970. Calculation of isophotes with Mercury close to the limb shows the black drop phenomenon; which thus may be explained as an effect of stray light only.It is also shown that the Wilson effect on a sunspot cannot be produced by stray light alone.     

The equatorial shape and gravity field of Mercury from MESSENGER flybys 1 and 2

On 14 January and 6 October 2008 the MESSENGER spacecraft passed within 200 km of the surface of Mercury. These flybys by MESSENGER provided the first observations of Mercury from a spacecraft since the Mariner 10 flybys in 1974 and 1975. Data from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) provided new information on the equatorial shape of Mercury, and Doppler tracking of the spacecraft through the flybys provided new data on the planet’s gravity field. The MLA passes were on opposite hemispheres of the planet and span collectively ∼40% of the equatorial circumference. The mean elevation of topography observed during flyby 1, in the longitude range 0-90°E, is greater than that seen during flyby 2 in the longitude range 180-270°E, indicating an offset between centers of mass and figure having a magnitude and phase in general agreement with topography determined by Earth-based radar. Both MLA profiles are characterized by slopes of ∼0.015° downward to the east, which is consistent with a long-wavelength equatorial shape defined by a best-fitting ellipse. The Doppler tracking data show sensitivity to the gravitational structure of Mercury. The equatorial ellipticity of the gravitational field, C_2,2, is well determined and correlates with the equatorial shape. The S_2,2 coefficient is ∼0, as would be expected if Mercury’s coordinate system, defined by its rotational state, is aligned along its principal axes of inertia. The recovered value of the polar flattening of the gravitational potential, J₂, is considerably lower in magnitude than the value obtained from Mariner 10 tracking, a result that is problematic for internal structure models. This parameter is not as well constrained as the equatorial ellipticity because the flyby trajectories were nearly in the planet’s equatorial plane. The residuals from the Doppler tracking data suggest the possibility of mascons on Mercury, but flyby observations are of insufficient resolution for confident recovery. For a range of assumptions on degree of compensation and crustal and mantle densities, the allowable crustal thickness is consistent with the upper limit of about 100 km estimated from the inferred depth of faulting beneath a prominent lobate scarp, an assumed ductile flow law for crustal material, and the condition that temperature at the base of the crust does not exceed the solidus temperature. The MESSENGER value of C_2,2 has allowed an improved estimate of the ratio of the polar moment of inertia of the mantle and crust to the full polar moment (C_m/C), a refinement that strengthens the conclusion that Mercury has at present a fluid outer core.     

Opportunities for X-ray remote sensing at Mercury

Mercury is the little known innermost terrestrial planet. A number of significant questions remain unanswered. We describe areas in which a compact imaging X-ray spectrometer could make a valuable contribution. It can provide high quality spectroscopic analysis of Mercury, using the fluorescence technique. A solar monitor is required to provide the calibration of the illumination necessary to produce a global map of absolute Hermean elemental abundances. In the case of Mercury studies of the surface and the magnetosphere form a single linked problem. The intense level of the radiation observed by Mariner 10 suggests that the auroral zone, where the energetic radiation interacts with the surface, is a potential intense source of X-rays. We estimate the fluxes. The solar wind may also contribute to X-ray generation, if it can reach the surface during highly excited periods. We describe briefly the instrument characteristics that could produce these observations.     

The calcium exosphere of Mercury

A tenuous calcium atmosphere at Mercury, principally seen in the polar regions, was first observed in July, 1998, using the High Resolution Echelle Spectrograph (HIRES) at the W.M. Keck I telescope (Bida et al., Nature 404, 159, 2000). We report four years of observations of the calcium exosphere of Mercury, confirming the initial findings of a very tenuous atmosphere. These observations show a persistent but spatially variable blue shift, indicating an excess velocity toward the observer of up to 3 km s⁻¹, with an average excess velocity of 2.2 km s⁻¹ above the south pole. In addition, the line profiles reveal a hot corona at the equivalent of 12,000-20,000 K in a thermalized atmosphere, indicating a large range of motion with respect to the observer. The calcium is not confined to the polar-regions: rare and low Ca abundance is seen in the equatorial regions. Strong emission was seen anti-sunward on 3 May 2002. Apparent weak emission on the sunward hemisphere may be due to scattered light from the surface, or may indicate a high latitude source. We show that the likely source of the calcium is either impact vaporization in the form of CaO and clusters, which are subsequently photo-dissociated, or ion-sputtering of atoms, molecules and ions. The column abundance is somewhat, but not strongly, correlated with solar activity. We predict a very hot (probably escaping) oxygen component to the hermean exosphere.