The Dual Sources of Io's Sodium Clouds

Details The Dual Sources of Io's Sodium Clouds The Dual Sources of Io's Sodium Clouds

Jun 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002icar..157..476w&link_type=abstract

Icarus, Volume 157, Issue 2, p. 476-489.

Physics

13

Scientific paper

Io's sodium clouds result mostly from a combination of two atmospheric escape processes at Io. Neutralization of Na+ and/or NaX+ pickup ions produces the ``stream'' and the ``jet'' and results in a rectangular-shaped sodium nebula around Jupiter. Atmospheric sputtering of Na by plasma torus ions produces the ``banana cloud'' near Io and a diamond-shaped sodium nebula. Charge exchange of thermal Na+ with Na in Io's atmosphere does not appear to be a major atmospheric ejection process. The total ejection rate of sodium from Io varied from 3×1026 to 25×1026 atoms/s over seven years of observations. Our results provide further evidence that Io's atmospheric escape is driven from collisionally thick regions of the atmosphere rather than from the exosphere.

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