Mercury’s Atmosphere: A Surface-Bounded Exosphere
Mercury’s Atmosphere: A Surface-Bounded Exosphere
复制标题
水星的大气层：表面束缚的外逸层
DOI：
10.1007/s11214-007-9260-9
复制
发表时间：
2007
影响因子：
10.3
通讯作者：
W. McClintock
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
D. Domingue;P. L. Koehn;R. Killen;A. Sprague;M. Sarantos;A. Cheng;E. T. Bradley;W. McClintock
摘要
水星周围存在着一个以表面为边界的散逸层，这是通过水手10号的气辉和掩星实验发现的。然而，目前对这种非常稀薄的大气层的了解或理解大多来自地面望远镜观测。很可能只有一小部分的外逸层成分已经被确认，但它们的丰度随着位置、时间和空间天气事件的变化而变化，这表明水星的外逸层是一个复杂系统的一部分，这个复杂系统包括水星的表面、磁层和周围的空间环境（太阳风和行星际磁场）。本文回顾了目前的假设和支持的意见有关的过程，形成和支持散逸层。关于水星外逸层的悬而未决的问题和问题源于我们目前缺乏关于表面成分，局部空间环境中的磁场行为以及局部空间环境特征的知识。
Abstract
The existence of a surface-bounded exosphere about Mercury was discovered through the Mariner 10 airglow and occultation experiments. Most of what is currently known or understood about this very tenuous atmosphere, however, comes from ground-based telescopic observations. It is likely that only a subset of the exospheric constituents have been identified, but their variable abundance with location, time, and space weather events demonstrate that Mercury’s exosphere is part of a complex system involving the planet’s surface, magnetosphere, and the surrounding space environment (the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field). This paper reviews the current hypotheses and supporting observations concerning the processes that form and support the exosphere. The outstanding questions and issues regarding Mercury’s exosphere stem from our current lack of knowledge concerning the surface composition, the magnetic field behavior within the local space environment, and the character of the local space environment.