Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 1991
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1991hst..prop.2602c&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #2602
Physics
Hst Proposal Id #2602
Scientific paper
We will observe Io at near and far UV wavelengths in a set of observations designed to study the excitation of the satellite atmospheres. The distinguishing element of this program is the design of the observations to separate the following processes: resonant scattering of solar emission, charged particle excitation by magnetospheric plasma, and (in the case of Io) the decay of the atmosphere in the absence of solar-driven sublimation from the surface. Io will be observed with the FOS/HST combination in the far-UV over a period of time centered on the passage of Io into eclipse to separate the solar emissions (while sunlit) from particle excited emissions (while in shadow) and the near UV SO2 aurora will be observed while Io is in shadow. The far UV lines of atomic sulfur and oxygen emanate from an extended atmosphere, and are produced by a combination of resonant scattering of solar emission and plasma impact relatively high in the atmosphere. The near-UV bands of SO reflect particle impact on SO2, the parent molecule believed to be driven by sublimation vapor pressure from the surface, and may be excited relatively closer to Io's surface (due to the 3 times smaller scale height) by incident plasma and/or ionospheric processes.
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