Elsevier

Icarus

Volume 65, Issues 2–3, February–March 1986, Pages 244-256
Icarus

Submillimeter and millimeter observations of jupiter

https://doi.org/10.1016/0019-1035(86)90137-5Get rights and content

Abstract

We report narrowband photometry of the Jovian disk in 10 passbands covering the range from 0.35 to 3.3 mm wavelength. Absolute calibration was referenced to Mars. The derived brightness temperature spectrum is analyzed in the context of existing contraints on the atmospheric temperature structure and composition from ground-based studies at shorter wavelengths and from various spacecraft measurements. Our results for wavelengths between 0.35 and 0.45 mm suggest that the radiances can be matched by models which include NH3 ice particles which are between 30 and 100 μm in size, regardless of the scale height characterizing the cloud. It is difficult however, to model the relatively cool observations longward of 0.7 mm unless additional absorbers are assumed in the atmosphere or a different NH3 lineshape is assumed. If the absolute calibration scale were increased by 5%, the results would be fit by a clear atmosphere (or a small particle cloud) model, with no need to invoke additional absorption in the Jovian atmosphere.

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      Several other observations have been carried out from space, with interesting results despite the small size of the telescope, such as the detection of 557 GHz water emission in the upper atmosphere (maximum pressures around 5 mbar) of both planets (Bergin et al., 2000). Disk-average brightness temperatures at 489 and 553 GHz resulted from these observations which are in disagreement with those of Goldin et al. (1997), thus illustrating how difficult it is to draw conclusions from data at a few frequencies provided by very different experiments (see also Hildebrand, 1985; Griffin et al., 1986. An additional problem for Saturn is the changing temperature due to the effect of the rings, which makes the different data sets incompatible with a single model.

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      However, sub-millimetre technology has not been utilised to any great extent in planetary observations from spacecraft, as past sub-millimetre instruments have been physically large and heavy, with high power-requirements. In the past, sub-millimetre observations of Jupiter have been done using ground-based telescopes such as the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (e.g., Davis et al., 1997), the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (e.g., Weisstein and Serabyn, 1994), the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) (e.g., Griffin et al., 1986), the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) (e.g., Griffin et al., 1986) and the Nationary Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) (e.g., Griffin et al., 1986; Courtin et al., 1977; Ulich, 1981). The sub-millimetre component of ORTIS is proposed to measure between 73.16 and 73.30 cm−1 (approximately 2.2 THz), in which spectral range there exists strong water vapour H2O and methane CH4 emission lines (Irwin et al., 2008), at a spectral resolution varying between 300 kHz (10−5 cm−1) and 30 kHz (10−6 cm−1).

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    Visiting astronomer, United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), Mauna Kea, Hawaii, which is operated by the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, under contract ot the U.k. Science and Engineering Research Council.

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    Visisting astronomer, National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Kitt Peak, Arizona, which is operated by Associated Universities Inc., under contract to the National Science Foundation.

    3

    Visiting astronomer, Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF), Mauna Kea, Hawaii, which is operated by the University of Hawaii, under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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    Visiting astronomer, United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), Mauna Kea, Hawaii, which is operated by the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, under contract ot the U.k. Science and Engineering Research Council.

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    Visiting astronomer, Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF), Mauna Kea, Hawaii, which is operated by the University of Hawaii, under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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    Visiting astronomer, United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), Mauna Kea, Hawaii, which is operated by the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, under contract ot the U.k. Science and Engineering Research Council.

    2

    Visisting astronomer, National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Kitt Peak, Arizona, which is operated by Associated Universities Inc., under contract to the National Science Foundation.

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    Visiting astronomer, United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), Mauna Kea, Hawaii, which is operated by the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, under contract ot the U.k. Science and Engineering Research Council.

    2

    Visisting astronomer, National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Kitt Peak, Arizona, which is operated by Associated Universities Inc., under contract to the National Science Foundation.

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    Visiting astronomer, Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF), Mauna Kea, Hawaii, which is operated by the University of Hawaii, under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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    Visiting astronomer, United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), Mauna Kea, Hawaii, which is operated by the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, under contract ot the U.k. Science and Engineering Research Council.

    2

    Visisting astronomer, National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Kitt Peak, Arizona, which is operated by Associated Universities Inc., under contract to the National Science Foundation.

    3

    Visiting astronomer, Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF), Mauna Kea, Hawaii, which is operated by the University of Hawaii, under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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