During the early stages of the project, the basic structure and configuration of Mercury’s magnetosphere will be examined by using the hybrid simulation model (details of the code can be found in section 4). This already has been started by examining the variable nature of the Mercury’s magnetosphere due to the relatively high eccentricity (e = 0.206) of the planet’s orbit, which has an aphelion orbital distance of 0.469 AU and perihelion distance of 0.309 AU (Earth is located at 1 AU from the Sun). Solar wind conditions can vary significantly between the two locations, with the density and IMF at aphelion being as little as ½ the values at perihelion. The estimated standoff distance of the Hermean magnetosphere at the two locations based on the average solar wind conditions will vary accordingly. Given that a Mercury year is about 88 days, its magnetosphere is expected to undergo significant changes due to orbital motion alone. Global hybrid simulations of the Hermean magnetosphere at peri (en)
Cílem projektu je studium a pochopení vlastností a struktury magnetosféry planety Merkur na základě interpretace měření provedených družicí MESSENGER a numerických simulací. (cs)