1. Particles and Photons as Drivers for Particle Release from the Surfaces of the Moon and Mercury
- Author
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Wurz, P., Fatemi, S., Galli, A., Halekas, J., Harada, Y., Jäggi, N., Jasinski, J., Lammer, H., Lindsay, S., Nishino, M. N., Orlando, T. M., Raines, J. M., Scherf, M., Slavin, J., Vorburger, A., and Winslow, R.
- Subjects
520 Astronomy ,Sputtering ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Mercury ,Release processes ,620 Engineering ,Fusion, Plasma and Space Physics ,Fusion, plasma och rymdfysik ,Escape ,Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi ,Space and Planetary Science ,Physics::Space Physics ,Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology ,Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics ,Moon ,Exosphere ,Photon-stimulated desorption - Abstract
The Moon and Mercury are airless bodies, thus they are directly exposed to the ambient plasma (ions and electrons), to photons mostly from the Sun from infrared range all the way to X-rays, and to meteoroid fluxes. Direct exposure to these exogenic sources has important consequences for the formation and evolution of planetary surfaces, including altering their chemical makeup and optical properties, and generating neutral gas exosphere. The formation of a thin atmosphere, more specifically a surface bound exosphere, the relevant physical processes for the particle release, particle loss, and the drivers behind these processes are discussed in this review.
- Published
- 2022
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