Abstract
Mercury is a poorly known planet, since the only space-based information comes from the three fly-bys performed in 1974 by the Mariner 10 spacecraft. Ground-based observations also provided some interesting results, but they are particularly difficult to obtain due to the planet’s proximity to the Sun. Nevertheless, the fact that the planet’s orbit is so close to the Sun makes Mercury a particularly interesting subject for extreme environmental conditions. Among a number of crucial scientific topics to be addressed, Mercury’s exosphere, its interaction with the solar wind and its origin from the surface of the planet, can provide important clues about planetary evolution. In fact, the Hermean exosphere is continuously eroded and refilled by these interactions, so that it would be more proper to consider the Hermean environment as a single, unified system – surface-exosphere-magnetosphere. These three parts are indeed strongly linked to each other. In recent years, the two missions scheduled to explore the iron planet, the NASA MESSENGER mission (launched in March 2004) and the ESA cornerstone mission (jointly with JAXA) BepiColombo (to be launched in 2012), have stimulated new interest in the many unresolved mysteries related to it. New ground-based observations, made possible by new technologies, have been obtained, and new simulation studies have been performed. In this paper some old as well as the very latest observations and studies related to the surface-exosphere-magnetosphere system are reviewed, outlining the investigations achievable by the planned space-based observations. This review intends to support the studies, in preparation of future data, and the definition of specific instrumentation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker, D. N., Simpson, J. A., and Eraker, J. H.: 1986, J. Geophys. Res. 91, 8742.
Balogh, A., Bird, M., Blomberg, L., Bochsler, P., Bougeret, J.-L., Brückner, J. et al.: 2000, BepiColombo—An interdisciplinary cornerstone mission to the planet Mercury. ESA-SCI (2000) 1, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, European Space Agency.
Barabash, S., Lukyanov, A. V., C:son Brandt, P., and Lundin, R.: 2001, Planet. Space Sci. 49, 1685.
Benz, W.: 2000, Space Sci. Rev. 92(1/2), 279–294.
Benz, W., Slattery, W. L., and Cameron, A. G. W.: 1988, Icarus 74, 516–528.
Bida, T. A., Killen, R. M., and Morgan, T. H.: 2000, Nature 404(9), 159–161.
Bougeret, J. L., King, J. H., and Schwenn, R.: 1984, Solar Phys. 90, 401–412.
Broadfoot, A. L., Shemanky, D. E., and Kumar, S.: 1976, Geophys. Res. Lett. 3, 577.
Bullen, K. E.: 1952, Nature 170, 363–364.
Butler, B. J.: 1997, J. Geophys. Res. (Planets) 102, 19283–19291.
Butler, B. J., and Muhleman, D. O.: 1993, J. Geophys Res. 98, 15003–15023.
Cameron, A. G. W.: 1985, Icarus 64, 285–294.
Cameron, A. G. W.: 1988, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 26, 441–472.
Cameron, A. G. W., Benz, W., Fegley, B., and Slattery, W. L.: 1988, The strange density of Mercury – Theoretical considerations, in F. Vilas, C. R. Chapman, and M. S. Matthews (eds.), Mercury, Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 692–708.
Cassen, P.: 2001. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 36, 671–700.
Cheng, A. F., Johnson, R. E., Krimigis, S. M., and Lanzerotti, L. J.: 1987, Icarus 71, 430–440.
Clayton, R. N.: 2003, Sp. Sci Rev. 106, 19–32.
Connerney, J. E. P., and Ness, N. F.: 1988, The magnetosphere of Mercury, in F. Vilas, C. R. Chapman, and M. S. Matthews (eds.), Mercury, Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson, p. 494.
Conzelmann, V., and Spohn, T.: 1999, Proceedings of the DPS, Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 31, 1802.
Cremonese, G., Boehnhardt, H., Crovisier, J., Rauer, H., Fitzsimmons, A., Fulle, M., Licandro, J., Pollacco, D., Tozzi, G. P., West, R. M.: 1997, Ap. J. 490, L199.
Cremonese, G., Orsini, S., Mangano, V., Capria, M. T., Milillo, A., and Mura, A.: 2003, EGS-AGU-EUG Joint Assembly, 7–11 April.
Cuzzi, J. N., Dobrovolskis, A. R., and Champney, J. M.: 1993, Icarus 106, 102–134.
Daglis, I. A., and Livi, S.: 1995, Ann. Geophys. 13, 505–516.
Delcourt, D. C., Moore, T. E., Orsini, S., Millilo, A., and Sauvaud, J.-A.: 2002, Geophys. Res. Lett. 29(12), 10.1029/2001GL013829, 32.
Delcourt, D. C., Grimald, S., Leblanc, F., Berthelier, J.-J., Millilo, A., Mura, A. et al.: 2003, Annal. Geophys. 21, 1723–1736.
Eraker, J. H., and Simpson, J. A.: 1986, J. Geophys Res. 91, 9973–9993.
Fegley, B., and Cameron, A. G. W.: 1987, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 82, 207–222.
Fjelbo, G., Kliore, A., Sweetnam, D., Esposito, P., Seidel, B., and Howard, T.: 1976, Icarus 29, 407–415.
Gibson, E. K., Jr.: 1977, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 15, 303–312.
Glassmeier, K.-H.: 1997, Planet. Space Sci. 45, 119–125.
Goettel, K. A.: 1988, Present bounds on the bulk composition of Mercury: Implications for planetary formation processes, in F. Vilas, C. R. Chapman, and M. S. Matthews (eds.), Mercury, Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson, p. 613–621.
Goldstein, B. E., Suess, S. T., and Walker, R. J.: 1981, J. Geophys. Res. 86, 5485–5499.
Gombosi, T. I.: 2000, Magnetospheric Current System, AGU Geophysical Monograph 118, 363– 370.
Grün, E., Pailer, N., Fechtig, H., and Kissel, J.: 1980, Planet. Space Sci. 28, 333–349.
Guinan, E. F., Ribas, I., and Harper, G. M.: 2001, Reconstruction the Sun’s magnetic history and spectral irradiance evolution from X-ray, EUV, and FUV observations of solar proxies with different ages, The Evolving Sun and its Influence on Planetary Environments, Granada, Spain.
Hapke, B.: 1986, Icarus 66, 270.
Harmon, J. K., and Slade, M. A.: 1992, Science 258, 640–642.
Harmon, J. K., Slade, M. A., Velez, R. A., Crespo, A., Dryer, M. J., and Johnson, J. M.: 1994, Nature 369, 213–215.
Harmon, J. K., Perillat, P. J., and Slade, M. A., 2001, Icarus 149, 1–15.
Hasted, G. B.: 1964, Physics of Atomic Collisions, Butterworths, London, P. 416.
Hodges, R. R.: 1974, J. Geophys Res. 79, 2881–2285.
Hodges, R. R.: 1975, Moon 14, 139–157.
Hodges, R. R., and Johnson, F. S.: 1968, J. Geophys Res. 73, 7307–7317.
Hodges, R. R., Hoffman, J. H., Johnson, F. S., and Evans, D. E.: 1973, Proc. Lunar Sci. Conf., 4th, 2865–2875.
Huebner, W. F., Keady, J. J., and Lyon, S. P.: 1992, Astrophys. Space Sci. 195, 1–294.
Hunten, D. M., and Sprague, A. L.: 1997, Adv. Space Res. 19, 1551–1596.
Hunten, D. M., and Sprague, A. L.: 2002, Meteoritics Planet. Sci. 37, 1191–1196.
Hunten, D. M., Morgan, T. H., and Shemansky, D. E.: 1988, The Mercury atmosphere, in F. Vilas, C. R. Chapman, and M. S. Matthews (eds.), Mercury, Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 562–612.
Huguenin: 1976, Proc. Colloq. on Water in Planetary Regoliths, pp. 33–43.
Inaba, S., Tanaka, H., Nakazawa, K., Wetherill, G. W., and Kokubo, E.: 2001, Icarus 149, 235–250.
Ingersoll, A. P., Svitek, T., and Murray, B. C.: 1992, Icarus 100, 40–47.
Ip, W.-H.: 1986, Geophys. Res. Lett. 13(5), 423–426.
Ip, W.-H.: 1993, Astrophys. J. 418, 451–456.
Ip, W.-H.: 1997, Adv. Space Res., 19, 1615–1620.
Ip, W.-H., and Kopp, A.: 2002, J. Geophys. Res. 107, A11, doi:10.1029/2001JA009171, 1348.
Kabin, K., Gombosi, T. I., DeZeeuw, D. L., and Powell, K. G.: 2000, Icarus 143, 397–406.
Kallio, E., and Janhunen, P.: 2003a, Annales Geophysicae 21(11) 2133–2145.
Kallio, E., and Janhunen, P.: 2003b, Geophys. Res. Letters. 30(17), 10.1029/2003GL017842, 1877.
Kallio, E., and Janhunen, P.: 2004, Adv. Space Res. 33(12), 2176–2181.
Killen, R. M.: 2002a, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 37, 1223–1231.
Killen, R. M.: 2002b, Selective volatile depletion on the surface of asteroids, Proceedings of the Asteroids, Comets and Meteors Conference ESA SP-500, Berlin, Germany.
Killen, R. M., and Morgan, T. H.: 1993, Icarus 101, 293–312.
Killen, R. M., and Ip, W.-H.: 1999, Reviews of Geophysics 37, 361.
Killen, R. M., Potter, A. E., and Morgan, T. H.: 1990, Icarus 85, 145–167.
Killen, R. M., Benkhoff, J., and Morgan, T. H.: 1997a, Icarus 125, 195–211.
Killen, R. M., Potter, A. E., and Morgan, T. H.: 1997b, BAAS 29(3), 987.
Killen, R. M., Potter, A. E., Fitzsimmons, A., and Morgan, T. H.: 1999, Planet. Space Sci. 47, 1449–1458.
Killen, R. M., Potter, A. E., Reiff, P., Sarantos, M., Jackson, B. V., Hick, P. et al. : 2001, J. Geophys Res. (Planets) 106, 20,509–20,525.
Killen, R. M., Sarantos, M., and Reiff, P.: 2004a, Ads. Space Res. 33(11), 1899–1904.
Killen, R. M., Bida, T. A., and Morgan, T. H.: 2004b, Icarus, in press.
Küppers, M.: 2004., Icarus, in press.
Janhunen, P., and Kallio, E.: 2004, Annales Geophysicae 22, 1829–1837.
Johnson, R. E.: 1989, Icarus 78, 206.
Johnson, R. E.: 1990, Energetic Charged-Particle Interaction with Aatmospheres and Surfaces, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Johnson, R. E.: 2002, Surface boundary layer atmospheres, in M. Mendillo, A. Nagy and J. H. Waite (eds.), Atmospheres in the Solar System: Comparative Aeronomy, AGU.
Lammer, H., and Bauer, J.: 1997, Planet. Space. Sci. 45, 73–79.
Lammer, H., Stumptner, W., Molina-Cuberos, G. J., Bauer, S. J., and Owen, T.: 2000, Plan. Space Sci. 48, 529–543.
Lammer, H., Wurz, P., Patel, M. R., Killen, R. M., Kolb, C., Massetti, S. et al. : 2003, Icarus 166/2, 10.1016/j.icarus.2003.08.006, 238–247.
Leblanc, F., and Johnson, R. E.: 2003, Icarus 164, 261–281.
Leblanc, F., Delcourt, D., Johnson, R. E., and Liu, M.: 2003, J. Geophys. Res. Planets, E12, 10.1029/2003JE002151, 5136.
Leblanc, F., Lammer, H., Torkar, K., Berthelier, J. J., Vaisberg, O., and Woch, J.: 2004. Notes du Pole de Planetologie de 1’IPSL, No 5, (http://www.ipsl.jussieu.fr/Documentation).
Lewis, J. S.: 1972, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 15, 286–290.
Lewis, J. S.: 1988, Origin and Composition of Mercury, in F. Vilas, C. R. Chapman, and M. S. Matthewsin (eds.), Mercury, Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 651–666.
Livi, S. A., McNutt, R., Andrews, G. B., Keath, E., Mitchell, D. G., and Ho, G.: 2003, The energetic particles spectrometers (EPS) on MESSENGER and NEW HORIZON, AIP Proceedings CP 679 of Solar Wind X Conference, 838–841.
Luhmann, J. G., Russell, C. T., and Tsyganenko, N. A.: 1998, J. Geophys. Res. 103, 9113–9119.
Lukyanov, A. V., Umnova, O., and Barabash, S.: 2001a, Plan. Space Sci. 49(14–15), 1669–1675.
Lukyanov, A. V., Barabash, S., Lundin, R., and C:son Brandt, P.: 2001b, Planet. Space Sci. 49, 1677.
Lundin, R., Barabash, S., C:son Brandt, P. C., Eliasson, L., Nairn, C. M. C., Norberg, O. et al. : 1997, Ads. Space Res. 19, 1593–1607.
Madey, T. E., Yakshinskiy, B. V., Ageev, V. N., and Johnson, R. E.: 1998, J. Geophys. Res. 103, 5873.
Massetti, S., Orsini, S., Milillo, A., Mura, A., De Angelis, E., Lammer, H. et al. : 2003, Icarus 166(2), 229–237, 10.1016/j.icarus.2003.08.006.
McGrath, M. A., Johnson, R. E., and Lanzerotti, L. J.: 1986, Nature 323, 694–696.
Milillo, A., and Orsini, S.: 2001, Energetic Neutral Atoms: Potential Merits and First Observations, Recent Research Developments in Geophysical Research, Research Signpost 3, Trivandrum-India, 153.
Mitchell, D. G., Williams, D. J., Huang, C. Y., Frank, L. A., and Russell, C. T.: 1990, Geophys. Res. Lett. 17, 583.
Moore, T. E., Chandler, M. O., Fok, M.-C., Giles, B. L., Delcourt, D. C., Horwitz, J. L. et al. : 2001, Space Sci. Rev. 95, 555.
Morgan, T. H., and Killen, R. M.: 1997, Planet Space. Sci. 45, 81–94.
Morgan, T. H., and Shemanski, D. E.: 1991, J. Geophys. Res. 96, 1351–1367.
Morgan, T. H., Zook, H. A., and Potter, A. E.: 1988, Icarus 75, 156–170.
Mura, A., Orsini, S., Milillo, A., Delcourt, D., Massetti, S., and De Angelis, E.: 2004, Icarus, accepted.
Mussett, A. E.: 1969, Geophys J. Roy. Astron. Soc. 18, 257–303.
Ness, N. F., Behannon, K. W., Lepping, R. P., and Whang, Y. C.: 1975, Nature 255, 204.
Ness, N. F., Behannon, K. W., and Lepping, R. P.: 1976, Icarus 28, 479.
Ogilvie, K. W., Scudder, J. D., Vasyliunas, V. M., Hartle, R. E., and Siscoe, G. L.: 1977, J. Geophys Res. 82, 1807–1824.
Onose, N., and Fujiwara, A.: 2003, Velocity distributions of fragments and its time dependence, LPI Contribution 1155, Houston, Texas, p 55.
Orsini, S., Milillo, A., De Angelis, E., Di Lellis, A. M., Zanza, V., and Livi, S.: 2001, Planet. Space Sci. 49, 1659.
Orsini, S., and Milillo, A.: 1999, Il Nuovo Cimento 22C, N 5, 633.
Paige, D. A., Wood, S. E., and Vasavada, A. R.: 1992, Science 258, 643–646.
Palme, H.: 2000, Space Sci. Rev. 192, 237–262.
Potter, A. E.: 1995, Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 3289–3292.
Potter, A. E., and Morgan, T. H.: 1985, Science 229, 651–653.
Potter, A. E., and Morgan, T. H.: 1986, Icarus 67, 336–340.
Potter, A. E., and Morgan, T. H.: 1987, Icarus 71, 472–477.
Potter, A. E., and Morgan, T. H.: 1990, Science 248, 835–838.
Potter, A. E., and Morgan, T. H.: 1997a, Planet. Space. Sci. 45, 95–100.
Potter, A. E., and Morgan, T. H.: 1997b, Adv. Space Res. 19, 1571–1576.
Potter, A. E., Killen, R. M., and Morgan, T. H.: 1999, Plan. Space Sci. 47, 1441–1448.
Potter, A. E., Killen, R. M., and Morgan, T. H.: 2002a, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 37, 1165–1172.
Potter, A. E., Anderson, C. M., Killen, R. M., and Morgan, T. H.: 2002b, J. Geophys. Res. 107(E6), 10.1029/2000JE001493.
Roelof, E. C.: 1987, Geophys. Res. Lett. 14, 652.
Roelof, E. C., Mitchell, D. G., and Williams, D. J.: 1985, J. Geophys. Res. 90, 10991.
Russell, C. T., Baker, D. N., and Slavin, J. A.: 1988, The magnetosphere of Mercury, in F. Vilas, C. R. Chapman, and M. S. Matthews (eds.), Mercury, Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 514–561.
Sackmann, I. J., and Boothroyd, A. I.: 2002, Ap. J. 583, 1024–1039.
Salvail, J. R., and Fanale, F. P.: 1994, Icarus 111, 441–455.
Sarantos, M., Reiff, P. H., Hill, T. W., Killen, R. M., and Urquhart, A. L.: 2001, Planet. Space Sci. 49, 1629–1635.
Schubert, G., Ross, M. N., Stevenson, D. J., and Spohn, T.: 1988, Mercury’s thermal history and the generation of its magnetic field, in F. Vilas, C. R. Chapman, and M. S. Matthews (eds.), Mercury, Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson, p. 461.
Shemansky, D. E.: 1988, Revised atmospheric species abundances at Mercury: The debacle of bad g values, Mercury Messenger 2, Lunar and Planet. Inst., Housten, Texas, U.S.A., p. 1.
Shemansky, D. E., and Broadfoot, A. L.: 1977, Rev. Geophys. 15, 491–499.
Shemansky, D. E., and Morgan, T. H.: 1991, Geophys. Res. Lett. 18, 1659–1662.
Siscoe, G. L., and Christofer, L.: 1975, Geophys. Res. Lett. 2, 158.
Siscoe, G. L., Ness, N. F., and Yeates, C. M.: 1975, J. Geophys Res. 80, 4359–4363.
Sieveka, E. M., and Johnson, R. E.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 287, 418–426.
Simpson, J. A., Eraker, J. H., Lamport, J. E., and Walpole, P. H.: 1974, Science 185, 160–166.
Slade, M. A., Butler, B. J., and Muhleman, D. O.: 1992, Science 258, 635–640.
Slavin, J. S., and Holzer, R. E.: 1981, J. Geophys Res. 86, No. 13, 11, 401–11, 418.
Slavin, J. A., Owen, J. C. J., Connerney, J. E. P., and Christen, S. P.: 1997, Planet. Space Sci. 45, 133–141.
Smyth, W. H.: 1986, Nature 323, 696–699.
Solomon, S. C., McNutt, R. L., Gold, R. E., Acuña, M. H., Baker, D. N., Boynton, W. V. et al. : 2001, Plan. Space Sci. 49(14–15), 1445–1465.
Speiser, T. W.: 1965, J. Geophys. Res. 70, 4219.
Sprague, A. L.: 1992, J. Geophys. Res. 97, 18257–18264.
Sprague, A. L., Kozlowski, R. W. H., and Hunten, D. M.: 1990, Science 249, 1140–1143.
Sprague, A. L., Kozlowski, R. W. H., and Hunten, D. M.: 1993, Icarus 104, 33–37.
Sprague, A. L., Hunten, D. M., and Lodders, K.: 1995, Icarus 118, 211–215.
Sprague, A. L., Hunten, D. M., and Lodders, K.: 1996a, Icarus 123, 247.
Sprague, A. L., Hunten, D. M., and Grosse, F. A.: 1996b, Icarus 123, 345–349.
Sprague, A. L., Kozlowski, R. W. H., Hunten, D. M., Schneider, N. M., Domingue, D. L., Wells, W. K. et al.: 1997, Icarus 129, 506–527.
Starukhina, L. V.: 2000, LPSC 31, 1301.
Stebbings, R. F., Smith, C. H., and Ehrahardt, H.: 1964, J. Geophys. Res. 69, 2349.
Strom, R. G.: 1984, Mercury, in M. H. Carr (ed.), The Geology of the Terrestrial Planets, NASA Sp. 469, Washington, D.C., pp. 13–55.
Sugita, S., Schultz, P. H., and Adams, M. A.: 1997, Lunar Planet. Sci. Conf. 28th, 1393– 1394.
Tonks, W. B., Melosh, H. J., and McKinnon, W. B.: 1990, LPSC 21, 1260–1261.
Vilas, F.: 1985, Icarus 64, 503.
Weidenschilling, J.: 1978, Icarus 35, 99–111.
Weidenschilling, S. J., Spaute, D., Davis, D. R., Marzari, F., and Ohtsuki, K.: 1997, Icarus 128(2), 429–455.
Wetherill, G. W., and Chapman, C. R.: 1988, Asteroids and meteorites, in J. F. Kerridge and M. S. Matthews (eds.), Meteorites and the Early Solar System, Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 35–67.
Wetherill, G. W., and Stewart, G. R.: 1989, Icarus 77, 330–357.
Wiens, R. C., Burnett, D. S., Calaway, W. F., Hansen, C. S., Lykkem, K. R., and Pellin, M. L.: 1997, Icarus 128, 386–397.
Wurz, P., and Blomberg, L.: 2001, Plan. Space Sci. 49, 1643–1653.
Wurz, P., and Lammer, H.: 2003, Icarus 164(1), 1–13.
Yakshinskiy, B. V., and Madey, T. E.: 1999, Nature 400, 642–644.
Yakshinskiy, B. V., and Madey, T. E.: 2000, Surface Science 451, 160–165.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Milillo, A., Wurz, P., Orsini, S. et al. Surface-Exosphere-Magnetosphere System Of Mercury. Space Sci Rev 117, 397–443 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-005-3593-z
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-005-3593-z