Detection of new hydrocarbons in Uranus' atmosphere by infrared spectroscopy

Details Detection of new hydrocarbons in Uranus' atmosphere by infrared spectroscopy Detection of new hydrocarbons in Uranus' atmosphere by infrared spectroscopy

Oct 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006icar..184..634b&link_type=abstract

Icarus, Volume 184, Issue 2, p. 634-637.

Computer Science

23

Scientific paper

Ethane (C2H6), methylacetylene (CH3C2H or C3H4) and diacetylene (C4H2) have been discovered in Spitzer 10 20 μm spectra of Uranus, with 0.1-mbar volume mixing ratios of (1.0±0.1)×10, (2.5±0.3)×10, and (1.6±0.2)×10, respectively. These hydrocarbons complement previously detected methane (CH4) and acetylene (C2H2). Carbon dioxide (CO2) was also detected at the 7-σ level with a 0.1-mbar volume mixing ratio of (4±0.5)×10. Although the reactions producing hydrocarbons in the atmospheres of giant planets start from radicals, the methyl radical (CH3) was not found in the spectra, implying much lower abundances than in the atmospheres of Saturn or Neptune where it has been detected. This finding underlines the fact that Uranus' atmosphere occupies a special position among the giant planets, and our results shed light on the chemical reactions happening in the absence of a substantial internal energy source.

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