Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Mercury's magnetic field is approximately a magnetic dipole, apparently global, [8] on the planet of Mercury. [9] Data from Mariner 10 led to its discovery in 1974; the spacecraft measured the field's strength as 1.1% that of Earth's magnetic field . [ 10 ]
The magnetic-field strength at Mercury's equator is about 300 nT. [ 102 ] [ 103 ] Like that of Earth, Mercury's magnetic field is dipolar [ 97 ] and nearly aligned with the planet's spin axis (10° dipolar tilt, compared to 11° for Earth). [ 104 ]
The visual data also allowed scientists to determine that Mercury had "not experienced significant crustal modification”. [12] This also added to the mystery of the magnetic field, as it was previously believed that the magnetic fields are caused by a molten dynamo effect, but since there was little crustal modification this undermined that idea.
The new data collected by a space probe indicates Mercury's magnetic field could be 3.9 billion years old or some 400 million years older than even Earth's own magnetosphere. In one of its final ...
MESSENGER was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. [9] [10] The name is a backronym for Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging, and a reference to the messenger god Mercury from Roman mythology.
The spectral lines of mercury vapor lamp at wavelength 546.1 nm, showing anomalous Zeeman effect. (A) Without magnetic field. (B) With magnetic field, spectral lines split as transverse Zeeman effect. (C) With magnetic field, split as longitudinal Zeeman effect. The spectral lines were obtained using a Fabry–Pérot interferometer.
Mercury's density implies a solid iron-rich core that accounts for about 60% of its volume (75% of its radius). [10] Mercury's magnetic equator is shifted nearly 20% of the planet's radius towards the north, the largest ratio of all planets. [11]
Mercury has an observed magnetic field, which is believed to be generated within its metallic core. [28] Mercury's core occupies 85% of the planet's radius, making it the largest core relative to the size of the planet in the Solar System; this indicates that much of Mercury's surface may have been lost early in the Solar System's history. [33]