Its #AGU20 time! So here is a illustrated thread of my AGU presentation: #tistheseason #Science #planets #scicomm

Let's talk ... #Mercury, its #MagneticField, & its #Magnetosphere (magnetic environment). @AGUMagnetism (thread: 1/13)

Planets with an intrinsic dynamo generated magnetic field carve out a magnetosphere containing various current systems, each of which produce a magnetic field signal ... spacecraft observations get messy with all the different magnetic fields ... (2/13)

To understand the internally generated magnetic field & planets interior, we have to correct for the magnetic field signals from the external magnetospheric current systems ... For Mercury, other currents have been corrected for except the Birkeland currents (3/13)

Birkeland currents at Mercury are unique and produce strong magnetic signal close to the planet at mid-to-high latitudes ... where @MESSENGER2011 magnetic observations were made! So we have to correct for the Birkeland currents to unveil the planets internal field. (4/13)

To correct for the Birkeland currents, we need to use a physics based magnetohydrodynamic model capable of producing the currents from the dynamics of the magnetosphere ... We use the powerful magnetospheric model, GAMERA, developed @JHUAPL and adapt it for Mercury. (5/13)

We have to adapt the model to simulate Mercury because:

(1) its internal magnetic field and magnetosphere is offset significantly from the planets equator (6/13)

(2) it lacks an ionosphere through which the Birkeland currents can close through, causing the currents to flow to the surface and close through the planet (7/13)

Our adaptations pay-off & give a Mercury-like magnetosphere! (8/13)

A movie of Mercury basking in the solar wind from our simulations can be found at:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WaJ-kfofExVGfyLcroicD49qyijj-_1z/view?usp=sharing
(9/13)

Ongoing work is focused on benchmarking & characterizing the resulting Birkeland current, correcting the MESSENGER observations for the Birkeland currents, & improving the characterization of Mercury's internally generated magnetic field and interior structure!! (10/13)

The AGU poster can be found (with narration & hyperlinked references) at: …http://agu2020fallmeeting-agu.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=E7-22-64-8E-4A-F5-9D-BF-DE-92-35-88-0C-04-D2-B9
(11/13)

This work would not have been possible without my fabulous advisers ( @PlanetSabine & Dr. Brian Anderson), all my collaborators (especially @MHDwizard), and support from @JHUEPS, @JHUArtsSciences, & @NASA through the FINESST program. (12/13)

Please send your comments, questions, and feedback. Let's talk science!! Thank you!! (13/13)