タイトル | Magnetosphere-Regolith/Exosphere Coupling: Differences and Similarities to the Earth Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling |
著者(英) | Slavin, J. A.; Gjerleov, J. W. |
著者所属(英) | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center |
発行日 | 2001-01-01 2001 |
言語 | eng |
内容記述 | Of the three Mercury passes made by Mariner 10, the first and third went through the Mercury magnetosphere. The third encounter which occurred during northward IMF (interplanetary magnetic field) showed quiet time magnetic fields. In contrast the third encounter observed clear substorm signatures including dipolarization, field-aligned currents (FACs) and injection of energetic electrons at geosynchronous orbit. However, the determined cross-tail potential drop and the assumed height integrated conductance indicate that the FAC should be 2-50 times weaker than observed. We address this inconsistency and the fundamental problem of FAC closure whether this takes place in the regolith or in the exosphere. The current state of knowledge of the magnetosphere-exosphere/regolith coupling is addressed and similarities and differences to the Earth magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling are discussed. |
NASA分類 | Geophysics |
権利 | No Copyright |
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