How does the planetary magnetic field interact with the solar wind in the absence of any ionosphere?
The region in space where a planetary magnetic field interacts with the solar wind is called a magnetosphere. Mercury’s magnetosphere is only 5% the volume of the Earth’s, even though the planetary radii differ by less than a factor of 3. Mercury’s magnetosphere is exposed to a solar wind density and an interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) 4 – 9 times larger than Earth’s. Magnetic field, wave and particle measurements will tell us about the similarities and differences between the magnetospheres of Mercury and Earth.
