A Spectroscopic Search for Jupiter's Chromophores

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

1

Scientific paper

Despite many decades of ground-based, space-based, and in situ observations of Jupiter's atmosphere, the chemical agent(s) responsible for the varying colors seen in visible images of Jupiter remain unidentified. Spatially resolved high spectral resolution observations are needed to isolate different colored regions on the planet in order to identify these chromophores. Towards this end, we present the analysis of observations of Jupiter acquired on 13 April and 02 July 2006 with the Apache Point Observatory echelle spectrograph (R = 37500), which has a spectral coverage of 3500 - 10000 Angstroms. We used a 1.6 x 1.6 arcsecond slit to target regions that differ in color: the Great Red Spot (GRS), North Equatorial Belt (NEB), North Tropical Zone (NTrZ), South Tropical Zone (STrZ), Equatorial Zone (EZ), and the recently reddened Oval BA. The spectral characteristics of the white regions (NTrZ, STrZ, EZ) are compared with those of the reddish regions (GRS, NEB, BA). All regions are compared with the spectra of several possible chromophores, including ammonium hydrosulfide ice (NH4SH) and phosphorus and sulfur compounds. Differences between the telescopic observations and laboratory measurements are discussed.
This work was supported by the New Mexico State University Research Cluster Minigrant Program.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

A Spectroscopic Search for Jupiter's Chromophores 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 A Spectroscopic Search for Jupiter's Chromophores, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Spectroscopic Search for Jupiter's Chromophores will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-998904

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.