Determination of magnetopause and bow shock shape based on convolutional neural network modelling of MESSENGER data
- 1Moscow State University, Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow, Russian Federation
- 2Moscow State University, Physics dept., Moscow, Russian Federation
- 3University of Passau, Passau, Germany
- 4KNOW-CENTER GmbH, Graz, Austria
- 5Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
The magnetosphere of Mercury is relatively small and highly dynamic, mostly due to the weak planetary magnetic field. Varying solar wind conditions principally determine the location of both the Hermean bow shock and magnetopause. In 2011 – 2015 MESSENGER spacecraft completed over 4000 orbits around Mercury, thus giving a data of more than 8000 crossings of bow shock and magnetopause of the planet, this makes it possible to study in detail the bow shock, the magnetopause and the magnetosheath structures.
In this work we determine crossings of the bow shock and the magnetopause of Mercury by applying machine learning methods to the MESSENGER magnetometer data. We attempt to identify the crossings during the whole duration of the orbital mission and model the average three-dimensional shapes of these boundaries. The results are compared with those previously obtained in other works.
This work may be of interest for future Mercury research related to the BepiColombo spacecraft mission, which will enter the orbit around the planet in December 2025.
How to cite: Lavrukhin, A., Parunakian, D., Nevsky, D., Julka, S., Granitzer, M., Windisch, A., and Amerstorfer, U.: Determination of magnetopause and bow shock shape based on convolutional neural network modelling of MESSENGER data, European Planetary Science Congress 2021, online, 13–24 Sep 2021, EPSC2021-651, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2021-651, 2021.
