An unusual change in the Jovian Lyman-alpha bulge

Physics

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Jupiter (Planet), Lyman Alpha Radiation, Planetary Radiation, Brightness Distribution, Equatorial Regions, Iue

Scientific paper

A very unusual change is reported in the morphology of the Jovian Ly-alpha bulge, a region of enhanced Ly-alpha emission near the Jovian spin equator at a fixed system III magnetic longitude (lambda III) that has persisted since its discovery in the late 1970s. Observations from 1979-March 1989 consistently showed Ly-alpha emission that peaked near lambda III about 100 deg then dropped and remained constant in the nonbulge region from lambda III about 200-360 deg. During this time the bulge had a FWHM of about 100-130 deg. In September 1989 and March and May 1991 this nominal morphology was substantially different: the Ly-alpha brightness showed a much broader peak centered near 40 deg, meaning that the bulge encompassed nearly the entire equatorial region of the planet and the previously flat nonbulge region was virtually nonexistent. The change in bulge morphology may imply a significant change in the pattern of large-scale magnetospheric convection, in turn implying a possible change in longitudinal density structure of the Io plasma torus between March and Sept 1989.

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