An American study revealed that the solar wind may be the reason why the atmosphere of Mercury contains sodium.
No body in the solar system is exposed to the sun’s wind more strongly than Mercury. The planet’s magnetic field is deflected from the course of the sun by electrically charged particles “solar wind” at a distance of only 1,000 kilometers from the surface of Mercury, a point called magnetism.
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The solar wind carries the magnetic field lines of the sun and bends when it collides with the lines of Mercury, and when the conditions are right, these curved lines break and meet with the lines of Mercury in an event called “magnetic reconnection”. During the reconnection, particles from the solar wind can penetrate the magnetic field of Mercury, These particle transfers are called flow transfer events (FTEs).
In a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, the research team at the University of Michigan’s Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering investigated the impact of flow events on the planet’s surface using data collected by the MESSENGER spacecraft that studies Mercury’s surface, space environment and geochemistry. , which orbited Mercury between 2011 and 2015.
The onboard ion mass spectrometer (Rapid Imaging Plasma Spectrometer) recorded the local abundance of sodium group ions, including sodium, magnesium, aluminum and silicon ions.
Meanwhile, an onboard magnetometer measured the local magnetic environment during the MESSENGER orbital mission, and this scenario occurred 3,748 times.
The researchers conducted a statistical analysis of the abundance of sodium group ions in Mercury’s atmosphere, and found that the abundance of sodium group ions in the atmosphere is regarding 50% higher during flow transfer events, and the scientists concluded that the most likely cause was leaching from the solar wind.
These MESSENGER observations are an important indicator of the dynamics of Mercury’s thin atmosphere. In addition, more information is likely to come in early 2026 when the joint European-Japanese mission BabyColombo arrives at Mercury.
The mission consists of two spacecraft, one targeting Mercury and the other targeting its magnetosphere, and through teamwork they must provide unprecedented detail on solar wind scattering caused by flux transfer events.
