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14 - Observations of Mercury’s Exosphere: Composition and Structure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2018

By
William E. McClintock ,
Timothy A. Cassidy ,
Aimee W. Merkel ,
Rosemary M. Killen ,
Matthew H. Burger  and
Ronald J. Vervack
Edited by
Sean C. Solomon ,
Larry R. Nittler  and
Brian J. Anderson
Sean C. Solomon
Affiliation:
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York
Larry R. Nittler
Affiliation:
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington DC
Brian J. Anderson
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland
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Summary

Mercury is surrounded by a tenuous exosphere in which particles travel on ballistic trajectories under the influence of a combination of gravity and solar radiation pressure. The densities are so small that the surface forms the exobase, and particles in the exosphere are more likely to collide with it rather than with each other. During the three flybys of Mercury by the Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974–1975, the probe's Ultraviolet Spectrometer made measurements of hydrogen and helium and a tentative detection of oxygen. These observations were followed a decade later by discoveries with Earth-based telescopes of exospheric sodium and potassium, and still later of calcium, aluminum, and iron. In addition to characterizing sodium, calcium, and hydrogen in Mercury’s exosphere, the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer instrument on the MESSENGER spacecraft detected magnesium, ionized calcium, aluminum, and manganese. Thus, the total inventory of confirmed exospheric neutral species now includes H, He, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Al, Fe, and Mn. This chapter summarizes both ground-based and space-based observations of Mercury’s exosphere that have been made from its discovery by Mariner 10 through the four Earth years of nearly continuous orbital observations by the MESSENGER spacecraft.
Type
Chapter
Information
Mercury
The View after MESSENGER
 , pp. 371 - 406
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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