The spatial morphology of Europa's near-surface O2 atmosphere

Details The spatial morphology of Europa's near-surface O2 atmosphere The spatial morphology of Europa's near-surface O2 atmosphere

Nov 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007icar..191..755c&link_type=abstract

Icarus, Volume 191, Issue 2, p. 755-764.

Computer Science

11

Scientific paper

Results from a three-dimensional ballistic model of Europa's O2 atmosphere are presented. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ultraviolet observations show spatially non-uniform O2 airglow from Europa. One explanation for this is that the O2 atmosphere is spatially non-uniform. We show that non-uniform ejection of O2 alone cannot reproduce the required morphology, but that a non-uniform distribution of reactive species in Europa's porous regolith can result in a non-uniform O2 atmosphere. By allowing O2 molecules to react with Europa's visibly dark surface material, we produced a spatially non-uniform atmosphere which, assuming uniform electron excitation of O2 over the trailing hemisphere, compares favorably with the morphology suggested by the HST observations. This model, which requires a larger source of O2 than has previously been estimated, can in principal be tested by the New Horizons observations of Europa's O2 atmosphere.

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