Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Kim, Sang J.
• Glenar, David A.
• Joyce, Richard R.
• Kostiuk, Theodor

Titel

Spatial and Spectral Characteristics of the Near-Infrared Aurorae of Jupiter

Ist Teil von

• Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962), 1993-03, Vol.102 (1), p.99-106

Ort / Verlag

Legacy CDMS: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

1993

Quelle

Elsevier Journal Backfiles on ScienceDirect (DFG Nationallizenzen)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• We obtained near-infrared images and spectra of the Jovian aurorae using the CRSP (Cryogenic Spectrometer) on the KPNO 2.1-m telescope on January 22, 1992 (UT). The slit of the CRSP was aligned with 63° north and south latitudes in order to study the spatial structure of the auroral emission between 2 and 4μm. The spatial resolution was about 3 arcsec with spectral resolving powers of about 1000 and 700 for 2 and 4 μm, respectively. We obtained spatially resolved emission intensities of (1) H + 3 fundamental band lines between 3 and 4 μm and (2) the H 2 quadrupole lines of Q 1(1), Q 1(3), and S 1(1), and several H + 3 lines between 2 and 2.5 μm in the northern auroral region. The northern bright spot as seen in the 2-μm H 2 and H + 3 emission lines is at nearly the same position as the northern bright spot due to the H + 3 fundamental band lines. We derived spatially resolved rotational temperatures from the H + 3 lines in the north polar region and found that temperatures on the bright spot are no greater than those in other auroral regions. This suggests an enhanced abundance of H + 3 on the bright spot relative to other parts of the auroral zone. We found the southern H + 3 line intensities to be much lower than those in the northern auroral zone, suggesting a lower level of auroral activity near the south pole at the time of the observations. The continuum near the known H + 3 lines in the 3.17- to 3.57-μm region shows a significant brightening around the northern bright spot position, implying that the continuum contains many weak unidentified emissions, which are correlated with the auroral activity.