The measurements made of Mercury's magnetic field during the Mercury I
flyby and the Mercury III flyby have been incorporated into models of
the Hermean magnetosphere-magnetotail system. When the magnetic field
data for the first half of the Mercury I flyby and all of the Mercury
III flyby were incorporated pinto a single fit of a scaled version of
the Beard (J. Geophys. Res. 84, 2118-2122, 1979) Earth magnetosphere-
magnetotail system, a r.m.s. deviation of 9.3 nT for-the magnetic fiel
d vector was obtained (Bergan and Engle, J. Geophys. Res. 86, 1617-162
0, 1981). This paper presents results of a study that employs an adapt
ation of that Beard model but also adopts the assumption that the inci
dent solar wind pressure was different at the times of the two Mercury
magnetosphere encounters. Resulting different standoff distances and
scaling factors for the data of the two respective flybys result direc
tly from that single assumption. The study yields a comparable fit of
reduced r.m.s. deviation of 7.1 nT and a strength of the Mercury plane
tary dipole moment D (before any displacement effects are incorporated
) between 154 nT R(M)(3) (Merc 1) and 182 nT R(M)(3), (Merc 3). The co
rresponding standoff distances are 1.31 R(M) for the Merc 3 encounter
and 1.08 R(M) for the Merc 1 encounter. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier
Science Ltd.