Temperature structure and emergent flux of the Jovian planets

Technical Report · Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1978

OSTI ID:6038653

Silvaggio, P; Sagan, C

Long path, low temperature, moderate resolution spectra of methane and ammonia, broadened by hydrogen and helium, are used to calculate non-gray model atmospheres for the four Jovian planets. The fundamental and first overtone of hydrogen contributes enough absorption to create a thermal inversion for each of the planets. The suite of emergent spectral fluxes and representative limb darkenings and brightenings are calculated for comparison with the Voyager infrared spectra. The temperature differences between Jovian belts and zones corresponds to a difference in the ammonia cirrus particle radii (1 to 3 micron in zones; 10 micron in belts). The Jovian tropopause is approximately at the 0.1 bar level. A thin ammonia cirrus haze should be distributed throughout the Saturnian troposphere; and NH3 gas must be slightly supersaturated or ammonia ice particles are carried upwards convectively in the upper troposphere of Saturn. Substantial methane clouds exist on both Uranus and Neptune. There is some evidence for almost isothermal structures in the deep atmospheres of these two planets.

• Research Organization: Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (USA). Lab. for Planetary Studies
• DOE Contract Number: NGR-33-010-082
• OSTI ID: 6038653
• Report Number(s): N-79-13975; TRN: 79-020998
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
JUPITER PLANET
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
NEPTUNE PLANET
SATURN PLANET
URANUS PLANET
AMMONIA
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
HELIUM
HYDROGEN
INFRARED SPECTRA
METHANE
TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
ALKANES
ATMOSPHERES
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
HYDRIDES
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
NONMETALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLANETS
RARE GASES
SPECTRA
640107* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Planetary Phenomena