Willi Exner
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View article: Sodium Ion Distribution in Mercury's Magnetosphere as seen from MSB1234
Sodium Ion Distribution in Mercury's Magnetosphere as seen from MSB1234 Open
Mercury's environment is populated with a tenuous exosphere consisting mostly of sodium. After ionization by solar radiation, these sodium ions take peculiar paths through the magnetosphere; being trapped along dipolar magnetic field lines…
View article: Mercury’s Environment Observed by BepiColombo during the Second Mercury’s Swing-by
Mercury’s Environment Observed by BepiColombo during the Second Mercury’s Swing-by Open
Thanks to MESSENGER observations, we know that Mercury’s magnetosphere is highly dynamic, and it can be fully reconfigured in a few minutes, with strong influences of external conditions.BepiColombo mission includes a comprehensive payload…
View article: Ion-kinetic modeling of Mercury’s magnetosphere: a reference for BepiColombo’s sixth flyby
Ion-kinetic modeling of Mercury’s magnetosphere: a reference for BepiColombo’s sixth flyby Open
The BepiColombo mission offers a unique opportunity to investigate Mercury’s magnetosphere and its interaction with the solar wind. This study presents a model-based reference for ion and magnetic field observations during the sixth Mercur…
View article: Hybrid modeling of Mercury’s magnetosphere: Assessing accuracy in ion counting statistics
Hybrid modeling of Mercury’s magnetosphere: Assessing accuracy in ion counting statistics Open
In this study, we present a method for comparing hybrid plasma simulations with spacecraft measurement data, with a focus on Mercury’s interaction with the solar wind. Utilizing the 3D global hybrid simulation model Adaptive Ion-Kinetic El…
View article: Ion-kinetic modeling of Mercury’s magnetosphere: A reference for BepiColombo’s sixth flyby
Ion-kinetic modeling of Mercury’s magnetosphere: A reference for BepiColombo’s sixth flyby Open
The BepiColombo mission provides a unique opportunity to study Mercury’s magnetosphere, exosphere, and their interactions with the solar wind. The sixth Mercury flyby (MSB6) on January 8, 2025, offers a high-latitude trajectory potentially…
View article: Mercury's Nightside Magnetosphere: Predictions for Mercury's Magnetotail Twist at the Orbits of MPO and Mio
Mercury's Nightside Magnetosphere: Predictions for Mercury's Magnetotail Twist at the Orbits of MPO and Mio Open
Planetary magnetospheres exhibit significant twisting of the magnetotail with increasing downstream distances. However, Mercury's tail twist observed by MESSENGER indicate a rather small twist of up to 3 degrees.Here, we model Mercury's ma…
View article: Observations of Mercury’s plasma environment along BepiColombo’s sixth swingby on 8 Jan 2025
Observations of Mercury’s plasma environment along BepiColombo’s sixth swingby on 8 Jan 2025 Open
The BepiColombo mission to Mercury consists of two spacecraft MPO and MIO and was launched in 2018. During the cruise phase towards the target the spacecraft performed its last close flyby near Mercury on 8 Jan 2025 (MSB6). This was the la…
View article: Investigating Mercury's Magnetotail Twist at the Orbits of MPO and Mio
Investigating Mercury's Magnetotail Twist at the Orbits of MPO and Mio Open
MESSENGER observations of Mercury's tail twist reveal a rather small twist of up to 3 degrees.In this study, we model Mercury's magnetotail response to different Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) directions and address what MPO and Mio m…
View article: Multi-technique investigation of Mercury's southern magnetosphere based on BepiColombo first swingbys
Multi-technique investigation of Mercury's southern magnetosphere based on BepiColombo first swingbys Open
The recent swingbys of Mercury by BepiColombo were the first ones ever to pass through the southern magnetosphere, revealing unseen signatures in observational data.Our electron instrument SORBET/PWI can be used to identify signatures of b…
View article: Hybrid plasma simulation around Mercury: ion counting statistics
Hybrid plasma simulation around Mercury: ion counting statistics Open
Understanding Mercury's magnetosphere is a primary goal of the BepiColombo mission. In addition to spacecraft observations, numerical modeling efforts have shown to add invaluable insight to the Hermean magnetic field topology, current sys…
View article: Influence of the IMF direction on Mercury's magnetosphere
Influence of the IMF direction on Mercury's magnetosphere Open
Mercury, the smallest and innermost planet of our solar system, is exposed to a strong solar wind. The internal field is dipole-dominated, relatively weak, axisymmetric and significantly offset towards north. Through the interaction with t…
View article: Revised Magnetospheric Model Reveals Signatures of Field‐Aligned Current Systems at Mercury
Revised Magnetospheric Model Reveals Signatures of Field‐Aligned Current Systems at Mercury Open
Mercury is the smallest and innermost planet of our solar system and has a dipole‐dominated internal magnetic field that is relatively weak, very axisymmetric and significantly offset toward north. Through the interaction with the solar wi…
View article: Determining the Influence of the IMF and Planetary Magnetic Field Models on Mercury's Magnetosphere Along Spacecraft Trajectories of MESSENGER, BepiColombo and MPO
Determining the Influence of the IMF and Planetary Magnetic Field Models on Mercury's Magnetosphere Along Spacecraft Trajectories of MESSENGER, BepiColombo and MPO Open
Mercury's planetary magnetic field models (PMFMs) agree on a majorly dipolar field structure with a northward shift of the magnetic equator. However, due to the northerly biased orbit coverage of past spacecraft missions and different data…
View article: Solar wind entry into Mercury’s magnetosphere: Simulation results for the second swingby of BepiColombo
Solar wind entry into Mercury’s magnetosphere: Simulation results for the second swingby of BepiColombo Open
Context . We use a global 3D hybrid plasma model to investigate the interaction between Mercury’s magnetosphere and the solar wind for the second BepiColombo swingby, evaluate magnetospheric regions, and study the typical energy profile of…
View article: Neutral Current Sheet Displacement in Reaction to the Radial Interplanetary Magnetic Field at Mercury: Statistical Results from MESSENGER Data.
Neutral Current Sheet Displacement in Reaction to the Radial Interplanetary Magnetic Field at Mercury: Statistical Results from MESSENGER Data. Open
Mercury possesses a weak planetary dipole moment and is subject to a strong solar wind inflow. Thus, a small magnetosphere is formed. On the nightside, a neutral current sheet elongates the magnetic field lines to form a magnetotail. From …
View article: Expectations of the Ion-Profile in Mercury’s Magnetosphere during BepiColombo's Flybys 2021-2025
Expectations of the Ion-Profile in Mercury’s Magnetosphere during BepiColombo's Flybys 2021-2025 Open
The study of the structure and dynamics of Mercury’s magnetosphere is still an open research topic in space physics. Upon other mission objectives, the on-going BepiColombo mission will study the plasma environment around Mercury wit…
View article: How do Mercury's planetary magnetic field models compare to measurements from MESSENGER's and BepiColombo’s first flybys?
How do Mercury's planetary magnetic field models compare to measurements from MESSENGER's and BepiColombo’s first flybys? Open
<p>Due to limited spacecraft coverage, the planetary magnetic field of Mercury was well observed only in the northern magnetosphere by the MESSENGER mission.<br />Multiple inversion methods have been applied to observational da…
View article: BepiColombo at Mercury: First close-in magnetic field measurements from the southern hemisphere
BepiColombo at Mercury: First close-in magnetic field measurements from the southern hemisphere Open
<p>The internal magnetic field of Mercury is best described by a northward offset dipole with almost zero obliquity. Its offset, weakness, axisymmetry and lack of secular variation still poses a challenge to dynamo theory. After NASA…
View article: Density, Energy and Phase Space Density Distribution of Planetary Ions He+, O+ and Na+ in Mercury's Magnetosphere
Density, Energy and Phase Space Density Distribution of Planetary Ions He+, O+ and Na+ in Mercury's Magnetosphere Open
<p>The Mercury plasma environment is enriched in planetary ions from the tenuous neutral exosphere. We have developed a test-particle model which describes the full equation of motion for planetary ions produced from photo-ionization…
View article: Cross-comparison of global simulation models applied to Mercury's dayside magnetosphere
Cross-comparison of global simulation models applied to Mercury's dayside magnetosphere Open
We present the first comparison of multiple global simulations of the solar wind interaction with Mercury’s dayside magnetosphere, conducted in the framework of the international collaborative project SHOTS - Studies on Hermean …
View article: Influence of Mercury's Exosphere on the Structure of the Magnetosphere
Influence of Mercury's Exosphere on the Structure of the Magnetosphere Open
Mercury is embedded in a tenuous and highly anisotropic sodium exosphere, generated mainly by plasma‐surface interactions. The absolute values of the sodium ion density are still under debate. Observations by MESSENGER's Fast Imaging Plasm…
View article: The magnetic flux transport along the -Esw direction in the magnetotails on Mars and Venus
The magnetic flux transport along the -Esw direction in the magnetotails on Mars and Venus Open
<p>The induced magnetotails on Mars and Venus are considered to arise through the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) draping around the planet and the solar wind deceleration due to the mass loading effect. They have very similar st…