Particle excitation, airglow and H2 vibrational disequilibrium in the atmosphere of Jupiter

Technical Report · Sat Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:5924552

Shemansky, D E

The extreme ultraviolet EUV emission produced by particle excitation of the hydrogen atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn is examined using model calculations to determine the nature of the energy deposition process and the effect of such processes on atmospheric structure. Tasks ranging from examination of phenomenologically related processes on Saturn and Titan to analysis of experimental laboratory data required to allow accurate modeling of emissions from hydrogenic atmospheres are investigated. An explanation of the hydrogen H Ly(alpha) bulge in Jupiter's emission from the equatorial region is presented. It is proposed that Saturn, rather than Titan is the major source of the extended hydrogen cloud. The atomic hydrogen detected at the rings of Saturn may originate predominantly from the same source. A cross calibration is obtained between the Pioneer 10 EUV photometer and the Voyager EUV spectrometers, thus providing a direct measure of the temporal morphology of Jupiter between a minimum and a maximum in solar activity. Atomic and molecular data required for the research program are analyzed. An extrapolation of conditions in the upper atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn produces a predicted condition at Uranus in terms of excitation and hydrogen escape rates that may be observed at Voyager-Uranus encounter.

• Research Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5924552
• Report Number(s): N-84-34383; NASA-CR-173930
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640107* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Planetary Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ATMOSPHERES
DATA PROCESSING
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTS
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS
EXCITATION
EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
HYDROGEN
JUPITER PLANET
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NONMETALS
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
PLANETS
PROCESSING
RADIATIONS
SATURN PLANET
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
URANUS PLANET