Originally posted by THEDUDE86
could be an answer to if there is a moon there?But something large was seen there before and startled the scientific community .........this could be
huge
look at this
en.wikipedia.org...'s_moon
Mercury...
Main article: Mercury's magnetic field
Graph showing relative strength of Mercury's magnetic field (seen at wiki link)
During its second flyby of the planet on October 6, 2008, MESSENGER discovered that Mercury’s magnetic field can be extremely "leaky." The
spacecraft encountered magnetic "tornadoes" – twisted bundles of magnetic fields connecting the planetary magnetic field to interplanetary space –
that were up to 800 km wide or a third of the radius of the planet. These 'tornadoes' form when magnetic fields carried by the solar wind connect to
Mercury's magnetic field. As the solar wind blows past Mercury's field, these joined magnetic fields are carried with it and twist up into vortex-like
structures. These twisted magnetic flux tubes, technically known as flux transfer events, form open windows in the planet's magnetic shield through
which the solar wind may enter and directly impact Mercury's surface.[72]
The process of linking interplanetary and planetary magnetic fields, called magnetic reconnection, is common throughout the cosmos. It occurs in
Earth's magnetic field, where it generates magnetic tornadoes as well. The MESSENGER observations show the reconnection rate is ten times higher at
Mercury. Mercury's proximity to the Sun only accounts for about a third of the reconnection rate observed by MESSENGER.[72]
edit on 3-12-2011 by shushu because: (no reason given)
I'm going to suggest that possibly Mercury's magnetosphere was interacting with the CME and produced one of those TORNADOES.
edit on 3-12-2011
by shushu because: (no reason given)