Last Updated: October 17, 2023, 16:30 IST
It will now help scientists expand research about Mercury’s environment. (Representative Image)
Led by astronomer Mitsunori Ozaki of Kanazawa University, scientists from Japan and France detected the whistling sound around Mercury.
The smallest planet in our solar system, Mercury, is only a bit larger than Earth’s Moon. Since it is nearest to the Sun and lacks an atmosphere, the surface of the planet is covered in tens and thousands of impact craters. Now, scientists have discovered a mysterious fact about the Morning Star that might expand research about Mercury’s magnetic environment. According to a report by Science Alert, researchers have found “singing” plasma waves surrounding the planet. Wondering why the discovery is interesting? Here’s everything that you need to know.
The mysterious plasma waves of Mercury
What makes the planet different from the rest is that it doesn’t have a strong magnetic field because of its close proximity to the sun. The plasma waves were discovered by Japanese astronomer Mitsunori Ozaki, who hails from Kanazawa University. He along with other scientists from France and Japan discovered “whistling” sounds emitting from Mercury’s magnetic field for the first time ever. Notably, it is quite normal for such chorus waves to be recorded and observed from the atmosphere of planets like Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn, among a few others. Unlike them, Mercury is reported to be a big rock with an almost “non-existent atmosphere” owing to constant solar winds and radiation bombarded from the Sun.
So, what does Mercury lack?
Mercury also doesn’t have permanent radiation belts like the Ozone of Earth, which traps solar radiation in the planet’s magnetic field. Now, this new discovery has paved the way to study the magnetic environment of Mercury. They are keen to find out how the solar wind emitted from the Sun shapes the planet’s weak magnetic field.
What other interesting things about Mercury have become known to mankind?
Just months ago, it was discovered that the planet has its own strange aurora despite a lack of atmosphere. The fastest planet to zip around the Sun, in 88 Earth days, is surprisingly not the hottest planet in our solar system. Venus has bagged the title owing to its dense atmosphere. In addition to this, Mercury is reported to be a shrinking planet, an odd phenomenon that has been a topic of debate for decades.
