Dust Ablation During the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impacts

Details Dust Ablation During the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impacts Dust Ablation During the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impacts

Sep 1996

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996dps....28.2248m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #28, #22.48; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 28, p.1150

Other

Scientific paper

Dust particles in the comae of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet fragments were decelerated and heated upon entry into Jupiter's atmosphere. Ablation during this deceleration phase caused cometary material to be deposited at high altitudes in the Jovian atmosphere. In addition to the ablation of the incoming coma dust, particles that had condensed during the rising, cooling fireball and plume stages were ablated as the plumes splashed back down into the upper atmosphere. The metal emission lines observed 10-25 minutes after the impact represent the visible manifestation of this plume-dust ablation (e.g., Fitzsimmons et al. 1996). We have developed a numerical model to study the ablation of small dust particles in both the main impact and in the plume splashback. The incoming coma dust particles are going fast enough to be completely ablated before they reach the lower stratosphere --- water ice particles would ablate in the 10(-6) to few x 10(-4) mbar region whereas silicate dust grains could survive down to > 10(-2) mbar. Depending on their size and velocity, the particles that have recondensed in the plumes may not completely ablate during plume re-entry; the residual grains often remain hot enough to affect the infrared signature of the impact sites. We will discuss how the ablation of the plume debris can affect the gas-phase chemistry occurring during the plume splashdown and how ablation affects the timing and other features of the infrared and visible observations. The observations can, in turn, be used in conjunction with the ablation model to tell us something about particle sizes, velocities, and compositions of the plume dust. References: Fitzsimmons et al. (1996). Nature 379, 801-804.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Dust Ablation During the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impacts does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Dust Ablation During the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impacts, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Dust Ablation During the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impacts will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1462447