Articles | Volume 37, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-37-455-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-37-455-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Regular paper
| 
02 Jul 2019
Regular paper |
| 02 Jul 2019
| 02 Jul 2019
Mercury's subsolar sodium exosphere: an ab initio calculation to interpret MASCS/UVVS observations from MESSENGER
Diana Gamborino
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Space Research and Planetary Sciences, Physics Institute, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Audrey Vorburger
Space Research and Planetary Sciences, Physics Institute, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Peter Wurz
Space Research and Planetary Sciences, Physics Institute, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Related authors
No articles found.
Stefan Meyer, Marek Tulej, and Peter Wurz
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 6, 1–8, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-6-1-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-6-1-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a prototype of the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass spectrometer (NIM) of the Particle Environment Package (PEP) for the JUICE mission of ESA. NIM will be used to measure the chemical composition of the exospheres of the icy Jovian moons. The NIM prototype was successfully tested under realistic conditions and we find that the closed source behaves as expected within the JUICE mission phase velocities. No additional fragmentation of the species recorded with the closed source is observed.
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Short summary
We propose that the temperature of the Na exosphere of Mercury near the subsolar point is not at high as proposed in previous works. Using a numerical model and the appropriate energy distributions for each release mechanism, we can explain observations made by MESSENGER in April 2012. Our results show that close to the surface, the dominant release mechanism for Na is evaporation due to the solar irradiation, and at high altitudes the best candidate is the release by micro-meteoroid impacts.
We propose that the temperature of the Na exosphere of Mercury near the subsolar point is not at...
