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Johnson CL, Phillips RJ, Purucker ME, et al. Planetary science. Low-altitude magnetic field measurements by MESSENGER reveal Mercury's ancient crustal field. Science. 2015;348(6237):892-5doi: 10.1126/science.aaa8720.
Johnson, C. L., Phillips, R. J., Purucker, M. E., Anderson, B. J., Byrne, P. K., Denevi, B. W., Feinberg, J. M., Hauck, S. A., Head, J. W., Korth, H., James, P. B., Mazarico, E., Neumann, G. A., Philpott, L. C., Siegler, M. A., Tsyganenko, N. A., & Solomon, S. C. (2015). Planetary science. Low-altitude magnetic field measurements by MESSENGER reveal Mercury's ancient crustal field. Science (New York, N.Y.), 348(6237), 892-5. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa8720
Johnson, Catherine L, et al. "Planetary science. Low-altitude magnetic field measurements by MESSENGER reveal Mercury's ancient crustal field." Science (New York, N.Y.) vol. 348,6237 (2015): 892-5. doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa8720
Johnson CL, Phillips RJ, Purucker ME, Anderson BJ, Byrne PK, Denevi BW, Feinberg JM, Hauck SA, Head JW, Korth H, James PB, Mazarico E, Neumann GA, Philpott LC, Siegler MA, Tsyganenko NA, Solomon SC. Planetary science. Low-altitude magnetic field measurements by MESSENGER reveal Mercury's ancient crustal field. Science. 2015 May 22;348(6237):892-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa8720. Epub 2015 May 07. PMID: 25953822.
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Science. 2015 May 22;348(6237):892-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa8720. Epub 2015 May 07.

Planetary science. Low-altitude magnetic field measurements by MESSENGER reveal Mercury's ancient crustal field.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

Catherine L Johnson, Roger J Phillips, Michael E Purucker, Brian J Anderson, Paul K Byrne, Brett W Denevi, Joshua M Feinberg, Steven A Hauck, James W Head, Haje Korth, Peter B James, Erwan Mazarico, Gregory A Neumann, Lydia C Philpott, Matthew A Siegler, Nikolai A Tsyganenko, Sean C Solomon

Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada. Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA. [email protected].
  2. Planetary Science Directorate, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.
  3. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
  4. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA.
  5. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC 20015, USA.
  6. Institute for Rock Magnetism, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
  7. Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
  8. Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
  9. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.
  10. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
  11. Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA. Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75205, USA.
  12. Institute and Faculty of Physics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
  13. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC 20015, USA.

PMID: 25953822 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa8720

Abstract

Magnetized rocks can record the history of the magnetic field of a planet, a key constraint for understanding its evolution. From orbital vector magnetic field measurements of Mercury taken by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft at altitudes below 150 kilometers, we have detected remanent magnetization in Mercury's crust. We infer a lower bound on the average age of magnetization of 3.7 to 3.9 billion years. Our findings indicate that a global magnetic field driven by dynamo processes in the fluid outer core operated early in Mercury's history. Ancient field strengths that range from those similar to Mercury's present dipole field to Earth-like values are consistent with the magnetic field observations and with the low iron content of Mercury's crust inferred from MESSENGER elemental composition data.

Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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