Scientists find mysterious ‘singing’ plasma waves around Mercury for the first time.
The phenomenon discovered by Mitsunori Ozaki and teams from Japan and France. These chorus waves recorded on other planets, but first time on Mercury.
Mercury has a weak magnetic field. Researchers believe findings could reveal how fields are shaped by solar wind.
Earlier this year, scientists discovered Mercury has its own auroras, despite having no atmosphere.
There's been little research on Mercury. Its magnetic field discovered in 1970s by Mariner 10 probe.
BepiColombo mission launched in 2018 to study Mercury's magnetosphere. Recorded observations of magnetic field in 2021-2022 flybys.
During flybys, researchers found clear evidence of whistler-mode waves in Mercury's magnetosphere for the first time.