Mercury, the planet nearest the sun, shares with Earth the distinction of being one of the two mountainous planets in the solar system with a global magnetic field that shields it from cosmic rays and the solar wind. Now researchers, led by physicist Chuanfei Dong of the Princeton University Center for Heliophysics and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), have developed the first detailed model of the interaction between the magnetized wind and the magnetic field, or magnetosphere, that surrounds the planet—findings that could lead to improved understanding of the stronger field around Earth.
Click here for original story, Innovative model of the dynamic magnetic field that surrounds Mercury
Source: Phys.org