Discovery of a longitudinal asymmetry in the H Lyman-alpha brightness of Jupiter

Details Discovery of a longitudinal asymmetry in the H Lyman-alpha brightness of Jupiter Discovery of a longitudinal asymmetry in the H Lyman-alpha brightness of Jupiter

Jan 1980

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1980georl...7....5s&link_type=abstract

Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 7, Jan. 1980, p. 5-8.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

13

Asymmetry, Atmospheric Heating, Jupiter Atmosphere, Lyman Alpha Radiation, Planetary Radiation, Ultraviolet Spectroscopy, Brightness Temperature, Charged Particles, Midlatitude Atmosphere, Precipitation, Resonance Scattering, Spaceborne Astronomy, Voyager Project, Jupiter, Lyman-Alpha Radiation, Brightness, Asymmetry, Longitude, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Ultraviolet Spectrometer, Intensity, Models, Atmosphere, Charged Particles, Heating, Dissociation, Hydrogen, Abundance, Scattering, Observations, Geometry, Dat

Scientific paper

A strong longitude variation in the midlatitude Lyman-alpha brightness of Jupiter has been discovered using data from the Voyager ultraviolet spectrometers. A minimum brightness of 14.4 kR was observed in the System III (1965) west longitude range 200-300 deg. The intensity rises to a broad peak of 19.6 kR near a longitude of 110 deg, a 36% increase over the minimum. This intensity 'bulge' was observed to rotate with the planet and appeared at the same longitude during both Voyager encounters, four months apart. This is a surprising discovery; no other planet studied to date has such a characteristic and the upper levels of the Jovian atmosphere were expected to be uniform in longitude. It is likely that a longitudinal asymmetry in charged particle precipitation leads to selective heating of the upper atmosphere and increased dissociation of H2, increasing the hydrogen column abundance. The resulting increase in resonant scattering could produce the observed intensity bulge.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Discovery of a longitudinal asymmetry in the H Lyman-alpha brightness of Jupiter 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 Discovery of a longitudinal asymmetry in the H Lyman-alpha brightness of Jupiter, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Discovery of a longitudinal asymmetry in the H Lyman-alpha brightness of Jupiter will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-881300