Modelling the time-dependent magnetic fields that BepiColombo will use to probe down into Mercury’s mantle
Author(s)
Zomerdijk-Russell, Sophia
Masters, Adam
Korth, Haje
Heyner, Daniel
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
External solar wind variability causes motion of the magnetopause and changes of this boundary's current structure, and the resulting inductive processes, may be exploited to determine the interior structure of magnetized planets. In preparation for the arrival of the BepiColombo spacecraft at Mercury, we here assess solar wind ram pressure forcing in this planet's environment, through analysis of data acquired by the Helios spacecraft, and the impact on the magnetopause's inducing field. These measurements suggest that BepiColombo will see highly unpredictable solar wind conditions and that the inducing field generated in response to variable solar wind ram pressure is non-uniform across the planet's surface. The inducing magnetic field spectrum, with frequencies in the range of ∼5.5 x10¯⁵ -1.5 x 10¯²Hz, suggests that the transfer functions derived from the two BepiColombo spacecraft could allow us to obtain a profile of conductivity through Mercury's crust and mantle.
Date Issued
2023-01-28
Date Acceptance
2022-12-20
Citation
Geophysical Research Letters, 2023, 50 (2)
ISSN
0094-8276
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
50
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2023. The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN e2022GL101607
Date Publish Online
2023-01-09