Gravity Field and Internal Structure of Mercury from MESSENGER

Radio tracking of the MESSENGER spacecraft has provided a model of Mercury's gravity field. In the northern hemisphere, several large gravity anomalies, including candidate mass concentrations (mascons), exceed 100 mi Hi-Galileos (mgal). Mercury's northern hemisphere crust is thicker at lo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2012-04, Vol.336 (6078), p.214-217
Main Authors: Smith, David E., Zuber, Maria T., Phillips, Roger J., Solomon, Sean C., Hauck, Steven A., Lemoine, Frank G., Mazarico, Erwan, Neumann, Gregory A., Peale, Stanton J., Margot, Jean-Luc, Johnson, Catherine L., Torrence, Mark H., Perry, Mark E., Rowlands, David D., Goossens, Sander, Head, James W., Taylor, Anthony H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
Crusts
Density distribution
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Geoids
Gravitational anomalies
Gravitational fields
Gravity anomalies
Liquids
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration
Mantle
Mass
Mass, size
gravitational fields
rotation
orbits
Mercury
Moments of inertia
Northern Hemisphere
Planetary, asteroid, and satellite characteristics and properties
Planets, their satellites and rings. Asteroids
Scientific Concepts
Silicates
Solar system
Solids
Thinning
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Radio tracking of the MESSENGER spacecraft has provided a model of Mercury's gravity field. In the northern hemisphere, several large gravity anomalies, including candidate mass concentrations (mascons), exceed 100 mi Hi-Galileos (mgal). Mercury's northern hemisphere crust is thicker at low latitudes and thinner in the polar region and shows evidence for thinning beneath some impact basins. The low-degree gravity field, combined with planetary spin parameters, yields the moment of inertia CIMR² = 0.353 ± 0.017, where M and R are Mercury's mass and radius, and a ratio of the moment of inertia of Mercury's solid outer shell to that of the planet of CJC = 0.452 ± 0.035. A model for Mercury's radial density distribution consistent with these results includes a solid silicate crust and mantle overlying a solid iron-sulfide layer and an iron-rich liquid outer core and perhaps a solid inner core.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1218809