Mercury
The View after MESSENGER

Offers an authoritative synthesis of knowledge of the planet Mercury after the MESSENGER mission, for researchers and students in planetary science.

Sean C. Solomon (Edited by), Larry R. Nittler (Edited by), Brian J. Anderson (Edited by)

9781107154452, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 December 2018

596 pages
28.2 x 22.5 x 3.1 cm, 1.9 kg

'An excellent Index and a list of Mercurian place names complete this volume. The editor and Cambridge University Press are to be congratulated upon bringing this huge publication to successful completion.' Richard McKim, The Observatory

Observations from the first spacecraft to orbit the planet Mercury have transformed our understanding of the origin and evolution of rocky planets. This volume is the definitive resource about Mercury for planetary scientists, from students to senior researchers. Topics treated in depth include Mercury's chemical composition; the structure of its crust, lithosphere, mantle, and core; Mercury's modern and ancient magnetic field; Mercury's geology, including the planet's major geological units and their surface chemistry and mineralogy, its spectral reflectance characteristics, its craters and cratering history, its tectonic features and deformational history, its volcanic features and magmatic history, its distinctive hollows, and the frozen ices in its polar deposits; Mercury's exosphere and magnetosphere and the processes that govern their dynamics and their interaction with the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field; the formation and large-scale evolution of the planet; and current plans and needed capabilities to explore Mercury further in the future.

1. The MESSENGER mission: science and implementation overview Sean C. Solomon and Brian J. Anderson
2. The chemical composition of Mercury Larry R. Nittler, Nancy L. Chabot, Timothy L. Grove and Patrick N. Peplowski
3. Mercury's crust and lithosphere: structure and mechanics Roger J. Phillips, Paul K. Byrne, Peter B. James, Erwan Mazarico, Gregory A. Neumann and Mark E. Perry
4. Mercury's internal structure Jean-Luc Margot, Steven A. Hauck, II, Erwan Mazarico, Sebastiano Padovan and Stanton J. Peale
5. Mercury's internal magnetic field Catherine L. Johnson, Brian J. Anderson, Haje Korth, Roger J. Phillips and Lydia C. Philpott
6. The geologic history of Mercury Brett W. Denevi, Carolyn M. Ernst, Louise M. Prockter and Mark S. Robinson
7. The geochemical and mineralogical diversity of Mercury Timothy J. McCoy, Patrick N. Peplowski, Francis M. McCubbin and Shoshana Z. Weider
8. Spectral reflectance constraints on the composition and evolution of Mercury's surface Scott L. Murchie, Rachel L. Klima, Noam R. Izenberg, Deborah L. Domingue, David T. Blewett and Jörn Helbert
9. Impact cratering of Mercury Clark R. Chapman, David M. H. Baker, Olivier S. Barnouin, Caleb I. Fassett, Simone Marchi, William J. Merline, Lillian R. Ostrach, Louise M. Prockter and Robert G. Strom
10. The tectonic character of Mercury Paul K. Byrne, Christian Klimczak and A. M. Celâl Sengör
11. The volcanic character of Mercury Paul K. Byrne, Jennifer L. Whitten, Christian Klimczak, Francis M. McCubbin and Lillian R. Ostrach
12. Mercury's hollows David T. Blewett, Carolyn M. Ernst, Scott L. Murchie and Faith Vilas
13. Mercury's polar deposits Nancy L. Chabot, David J. Lawrence, Gregory A. Neumann, William C. Feldman and David A. Paige
14. Observations of Mercury's exosphere: composition and structure William E. McClintock, Timothy A. Cassidy, Aimee W. Merkel, Rosemary M. Killen, Matthew H. Burger and Ronald J. Vervack, Jr
15. Understanding Mercury's exosphere: models derived from MESSENGER observations Rosemary M. Killen, Matthew H. Burger, Ronald J. Vervack, Jr, and Timothy A. Cassidy
16. Structure and configuration of Mercury's magnetosphere Haje Korth, Brian J. Anderson, Catherine L. Johnson, James A. Slavin, Jim M. Raines and Thomas H. Zurbuchen
17. Mercury's dynamic magnetosphere James A. Slavin, Daniel N. Baker, Daniel J. Gershman, George C. Ho, Suzanne M. Imber, Stamatios M. Krimigis and Torbjörn Sundberg
18. The elusive origin of Mercury Denton S. Ebel and Sarah T. Stewart
19. Mercury's global evolution Steven A. Hauck, II, Matthias Grott, Paul K. Byrne, Brett W. Denevi, Sabine Stanley and Timothy J. McCoy
20. Future missions: Mercury after MESSENGER Ralph L. McNutt, Jr, Johannes Benkhoff, Masaki Fujimoto and Brian J. Anderson.

Subject Areas: Solar system: the Sun & planets [PGS], Astronomy, space & time [PG]