Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005agufmsa42a..01m&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2005, abstract #SA42A-01
Physics
2400 Ionosphere (6929), 2439 Ionospheric Irregularities, 2459 Planetary Ionospheres (5435, 5729, 6026), 2479 Solar Radiation And Cosmic Ray Effects, 7974 Solar Effects
Scientific paper
The ionization of a planet's (or moon's) upper atmosphere is caused by energetic photons (EUV and X-rays), augmented by the influx of energetic particles (meteoritic, heliospheric, magnetospheric). The primary structure of an ionosphere, its electron density profile with height Ne(h), results from photochemical processes, with modifications (sometimes dramatically so) due to transport. Typically, the Ne(h) profiles on Venus and Mars conform to photochemical equilibrium, while at Earth both photochemistry and dynamics are needed. For the giant planets, photochemistry alone is unable to match observations. This suggests the need for dynamical processes (winds, E-fields), energetics (e.g., loss via vibrationally-excited molecules), and possible influxes of material (e.g., water products)--- all poorly constrained by observations. Variable solar activity affects all planetary ionospheres, and local plasma instabilities may occur as well. This brief paper provides an overview of known characteristics of planetary ionospheres, and then gives examples of regional and episodic disturbances on Mars as a way to encourage the study of solar-terrestrial planet-relationships (STPR) as a future direction for aeronomy.
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