Exotic Earths: forming habitable worlds with giant planet migration

Close-in giant planets (e.g., "hot Jupiters") are thought to form far from their host stars and migrate inward, through the terrestrial planet zone, via torques with a massive gaseous disk. Here we simulate terrestrial planet growth during and after giant planet migration. Several-Earth-mass planets also form interior to the migrating jovian planet, analogous to recently discovered "hot Earths." Very-water-rich, Earth-mass planets form from surviving material outside the giant planet's orbit, often in the habitable zone and with low orbital eccentricities. More than a third of the known systems of giant planets may harbor Earth-like planets.     

Mariner 6 and mariner 7 ultraviolet spectrometer: in-flight measurements of simulated jupiter atmosphere

An experiment has been performed in interplanetary space which closely simulates the observations that would be madef by an ultraviolet spectrometer observing the atmospheres of the jovian planets. A mixture of ammonia, nitrogen, and hydrogen was released from the Mariner spacecraft, and spectra were recorded while these gases were illuminated by sunlight. The principal emissions observed were the HI 1216-angstrom Lyman-alpha line, the H(2) B-X Lyman bands, and the NH c-a and A-X bands.     

Interiors of the giant planets

Unlike the terrestrial planets, the giant planets-Jupiter, Satum, Uranus, and Neptune-have retained large amounts of the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen compounds that were present in their zone of formation. A smaller fraction of the available hydrogen and helium was retained. The distribution and relative amounts of these components in the interiors of the Jovian planets can be inferred from theoretical and expermental data on equations of state and from the planets' hydrostatic equilibrium response to rotation.     

Atmospheric dynamics of the outer planets

Despite major differences in the solar and internal energy inputs, the atmospheres of the four Jovian planets all exhibit latitudinal banding and high-speed jet streams. Neptune and Saturn are the windiest planets, Jupiter is the most active, and Uranus is a tipped-over version of the others. Large oval storm systems exhibit complicated time-dependent behavior that can be simulated in numerical models and laboratory experiments. The largest storm system, the Great Red Spot of Jupiter, has survived for more than 300 years in a chaotic shear zone where smaller structures appear and dissipate every few days. Future space missions will add to our understanding of small-scale processes, chemical composition, and vertical structure. Theoretical hypotheses about the interiors provide input for fluid dynamical models that reproduce many observed features of the winds, temperatures, and cloud patterns. In one set of models the winds are confined to the thin layer where clouds form. In other models, the winds extend deep into the planetary fluid interiors. Hypotheses will be tested further as observations and theories become more exact and detailed comparisons are made.     

Energetic charged particles in the uranian magnetosphere

During the encounter with Uranus, the cosmic ray system on Voyager 2 measured significant fluxes of energetic electrons and protons in the regions of the planets magnetosphere where these particles could be stably trapped. The radial distribution of electrons with energies of megaelectron volts is strongly modulated by the sweeping effects ofthe three major inner satellites Miranda, Ariel, and Umbriel. The phase space density gradient of these electrons indicates that they are diffusing radially inward from a source in the outer magnetosphere or magnetotail. Differences in the energy spectra of protons having energies of approximately 1 to 8 megaelectron volts from two different directions indicate a strong dependence on pitch angle. From the locations of the absorption signatures observed in the electron flux, a centered dipole model for the magnetic field of Uranus with a tilt of 60.1 degrees has been derived, and a rotation period of the planet of 17.4 hours has also been calculated. This model provides independent confirmaton of more precise determinations made by other Voyager experiments.     

Ultraviolet spectrometer observations of neptune and triton

Results from the occultation of the sun by Neptune imply a temperature of 750 +/- 150 kelvins in the upper levels of the atmosphere (composed mostly of atomic and molecular hydrogen) and define the distributions of methane, acetylene, and ethane at lower levels. The ultraviolet spectrum of the sunlit atmosphere of Neptune resembles the spectra of the Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus atmospheres in that it is dominated by the emissions of H Lyman alpha (340 +/- 20 rayleighs) and molecular hydrogen. The extreme ultraviolet emissions in the range from 800 to 1100 angstroms at the four planets visited by Voyager scale approximately as the inverse square of their heliocentric distances. Weak auroral emissions have been tentatively identified on the night side of Neptune. Airglow and occultation observations of Triton's atmosphere show that it is composed mainly of molecular nitrogen, with a trace of methane near the surface. The temperature of Triton's upper atmosphere is 95 +/- 5 kelvins, and the surface pressure is roughly 14 microbars.     

太阳系天体相对地球某点的波动式螺线运动(Ⅱ)——太阳系七大行星相对地球某点的螺线运动方程推导及模拟分析

为研究太阳系天体相对地球某点的运动规律,在太阳系天体相对地球某点的波动式螺线运动(I)中推导出太阳和月球对地球赤道某点和纬度某点的波动式螺线运动轨迹方程,并进行了计算机模拟与分析的基础上,推导出太阳系七大行星对地球赤道某点和纬度某点的波动式螺线运动轨迹方程,并分别进行了计算机模拟与分析.结果表明,太阳系七大行星相对于地球某点的运动轨迹为与幅值与角度相关的波动式螺线,向x轴方向等速传播,并且在两种坐标轴下的运动规律与太阳、月亮类似.并且:1在双波动坐标轴下分析,水星运动轨迹在yz平面上的投影出现重波;2金星运动轨迹在yz平面上的投影疏密度与其余星球相反;3在波动-螺面坐标轴下分析,天王星和海王星螺线与太阳的最相近.     

Remote sensing of the magnetic moment of uranus: predictions for voyager

Power is supplied to a planet's magnetosphere from the kinetic energy of planetary spin and the energy flux of the impinging solar wind. A fraction of this power is available to drive numerous observable phenomena, such as polar auroras and planetary radio emissions. In this report our present understanding of these power transfer mechanisms is applied to Uranus to make specific predictions of the detectability of radio and auroral emissions by the planetary radio astronomy (PRA) and ultraviolet spectrometer (UVS) instruments aboard the Voyager spacecraft before its encounter with Uranus at the end of January 1986. The power available for these two phenomena is (among other factors) a function of the magnetic moment of Uranus. The date of earliest detectability also depends on whether the predominant power source for the magnetosphere is planetary spin or solar wind. The magnetic moment of Uranus is derived for each power source as a function of the date of first detection of radio emissions by the PRA instrument or auroral emissions by the UVS instrument. If we accept the interpretation of ultraviolet observations now available from the Earth-orbiting International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite, Uranus has a surface magnetic field of at least 0.6 gauss, and more probably several gauss, making it the largest or second-largest planetary magnetic field in the solar system.     

The Morphogenesis of Bands and Zonal Winds in the Atmospheres on the Giant Outer Planets

The atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune were modeled as shallow layers of turbulent fluid overlying a smooth, spherical interior. With only the observed values of radius, rotation rate, average wind velocity, and mean layer thickness as model parameters, bands and jets spontaneously emerged from random initial conditions. The number, width, and amplitude of the jets, as well as the dominance of anticyclonic vortices, are in good agreement with observations for all four planets.     

Interior structure of neptune: comparison with uranus

Measurements of rotation rates and gravitational harmonics of Neptune made with the Voyager 2 spacecraft allow tighter constraints on models of the planet's interior. Shock measurements of material that may match the composition of Neptune, the so-calied planetary ;;ice,' have been carried out to pressures exceeding 200 gigapascals (2 megabars). Comparison of shock data with inferred pressure-density profiles for both Uranus and Neptune shows substantial similarity through most of the mass of both planets. Analysis of the effect of Neptune's strong differential rotation on its gravitational harmonics indicates that differential rotation involves only the outermost few percent of Neptune's mass.     

Infrared observations of the neptunian system

The infrared interferometer spectrometer on Voyager 2 obtained thermal emission spectra of Neptune with a spectral resolution of 4.3 cm(-1). Measurements of reflected solar radiation were also obtained with a broadband radiometer sensitive in the visible and near infrared. Analysis of the strong C(2)H(2) emission feature at 729 cm(-1) suggests an acetylene mole fraction in the range between 9 x 10(-8) and 9 x 10(-7). Vertical temperature profiles were derived between 30 and 1000 millibars at 70 degrees and 42 degrees S and 30 degrees N. Temperature maps of the planet between 80 degrees S and 30 degrees N were obtained for two atmospheric layers, one in the lower stratosphere between 30 and 120 millibars and the other in the troposphere between 300 and 1000 millibars. Zonal mean temperatures obtained from these maps and from latitude scans indicate a relatively warm pole and equator with cooler mid-latitudes. This is qualitatively similar to the behavior found on Uranus even though the obliquities and internal heat fluxes of the two planets are markedly different. Comparison of winds derived from images with the vertical wind shear calculated from the temperature field indicates a general decay of wind speed with height, a phenomenon also observed on the other three giant planets. Strong, wavelike longitudinal thermal structure is found, some of which appears to be associated with the Great Dark Spot. An intense, localizd cold region is seen in the lower stratosphere, which does not appear to be correlated with any visible feature. A preliminary estimate of the effective temperature of the planet yields a value of 59.3 +/- 1.0 kelvins. Measurements of Triton provide an estimate of the daytime surface temperature of 38(+3)(-4) kelvins.     

Energetic particles in the jovian magnetotail

When the solar wind hits Jupiter's magnetic field, it creates a long magnetotail trailing behind the planet that channels material out of the Jupiter system. The New Horizons spacecraft traversed the length of the jovian magnetotail to >2500 jovian radii (RJ; 1 RJ identical with 71,400 kilometers), observing a high-temperature, multispecies population of energetic particles. Velocity dispersions, anisotropies, and compositional variation seen in the deep-tail (greater, similar 500 RJ) with a approximately 3-day periodicity are similar to variations seen closer to Jupiter in Galileo data. The signatures suggest plasma streaming away from the planet and injection sites in the near-tail region (approximately 200 to 400 RJ) that could be related to magnetic reconnection events. The tail structure remains coherent at least until it reaches the magnetosheath at 1655 RJ.     

The magnetosphere of uranus: hot plasma and radiation environment

The low-energy charged-particle (LECP) instrument on Voyager 2 measured lowenergy electrons and ions near and within the magnetosphere of Uranus. Initial analysis of the LECP measurements has revealed the following. (i) The magnetospheric particle population consists principally of protons and electrons having energies to at least 4 and 1.2 megaelectron volts, respectively, with electron intensities substantially excceding proton intensities at a given energy. (ii) The intensity profile for both particle species shows evidence that the particles were swept by planetry satellites out to at least the orbit of Titania. (iii) The ion and electron spectra may be described by a Maxwellian core at low energies (less than about 200 kiloelectron volts) and a power law at high energies (greater than about 590 kiloelectron volts; exponentmicro, 3 to 10) except inside the orbit of Miranda, where power-law spectra (micro approximately 1.1 and 3.1 for electrons and protons, respectively) are observed. (iv) At ion energies between 0.6 and 1 megaelectron volt per nucleon, the composition is dominated by protons with a minor fraction (about 10(-3)) of molecular hydrogen; the lower limit for the ratio of hydrogen to helium is greater than 10(4). (v) The proton population is sufficiently intense that fluences greater than 10(16) per square centimeter can accumulate in 10(4) to 10(') years; such fluences are sufficient to polymerize carbon monoxide and methane ice surfaces. The overall morphology of Uranus' magnetosphere resembles that of Jupiter, as evidenced by the fact that the spacecraft crossed the plasma sheet through the dawn magnetosheath twice per planetary rotation period (17.3 hours). Uranus' magnetosphere differs from that of Jupiter and of Saturn in that the plasma 1 is at most 0.1 rather than 1. Therefore, little distortion ofthe field is expected from particle loading at distances less than about 15 Uranus radii.     

A young white dwarf companion to pulsar B1620-26: evidence for early planet formation

The pulsar B1620-26 has two companions, one of stellar mass and one of planetary mass. We detected the stellar companion with the use of Hubble Space Telescope observations. The color and magnitude of the stellar companion indicate that it is an undermassive white dwarf (0.34 +/- 0.04 solar mass) of age 480 x 10(6) +/- 140 x 10(6) years. This places a constraint on the recent history of this triple system and supports a scenario in which the current configuration arose through a dynamical exchange interaction in the cluster core. This implies that planets may be relatively common in low-metallicity globular clusters and that planet formation is more widespread and has happened earlier than previously believed.     

The jupiter-io connection: an alfven engine in space

Much has been learned about the electromagnetic interaction between Jupiter and its satellite Io from in situ observations. Io, in its motion through the Io plasma torus at Jupiter, continuously generates an Alfvén wing that carries two billion kilowatts of power into the jovian ionosphere. Concurrently, Io is acted upon by a J x B force tending to propel it out of the jovian system. The energy source for these processes is the rotation of Jupiter. This unusual planet-satellite coupling serves as an archetype for the interaction of a large moving conductor with a magnetized plasma, a problem of general space and astrophysical interest.     

Magnetospheres of the galilean satellites

The plasma and field perturbations of magnetospheres that would surround magnetized galilean satellites embedded in the corotating jovian plasma differ from those produced by interaction with an unmagnetized conductor. If the intrinsic satellite dipole is antiparallel to that of Jupiter, the magnetosphere will be open. It is predicted that Io has an internal magnetic field with a dipole moment of 6.5 x 10(22) gauss-cubic centimeters antiparallel to Jupiter's, and Io's special properties can be interpreted on the basis of a reconnecting magnetosphere.     

Localized reconnection in the near jovian magnetotail

The oppositely directed magnetic field in the jovian magnetic tail is expected eventually to reconnect across the current sheet, allowing plasma produced deep inside the magnetosphere near Io's orbit to escape in the antisolar direction down the tail. The Galileo spacecraft found localized regions of strong northward and southward field components beyond about 50 jovian radii in the postmidnight, predawn sector of the jovian magnetosphere. These pockets of vertical magnetic fields can be stronger than the surrounding magnetotail and magnetodisk fields. They may result from episodic reconnection of patches of the near jovian magnetotail.     

Ultraviolet spectrometer observations of uranus

Data from solar and stellar occultations of Uranus indicate a temperature of about 750 kelvins in the upper levels of the atmosphere (composed mostly of atomic and molecular hydrogen) and define the distributions of methane and acetylene in the lower levels. The ultraviolet spectrum of the sunlit hemisphere is dominated by emissions from atomic and molecular hydrogen, which are kmown as electroglow emissions. The energy source for these emissions is unknown, but the spectrum implies excitation by low-energy electrons (modeled with a 3-electron-volt Maxwellian energy distribution). The major energy sink for the electrons is dissociation of molecular hydrogen, producing hydrogen atoms at a rate of 10(29) per second. Approximately half the atoms have energies higher than the escape energy. The high temperature of the atmosphere, the small size of Uranus, and the number density of hydrogen atoms in the thermosphere imply an extensive thermal hydrogen corona that reduces the orbital lifetime of ring particles and biases the size distribution toward larger particles. This corona is augmented by the nonthermal hydrogen atoms associated with the electroglow. An aurora near the magnetic pole in the dark hemisphere arises from excitation of molecular hydrogen at the level where its vertical column abundance is about 10(20) per square centimeter with input power comparable to that of the sunlit electroglow (approximately 2x10(11) watts). An initial estimate of the acetylene volume mixing ratio, as judged from measurements of the far ultraviolet albedo, is about 2 x 10(-7) at a vertical column abundance of molecular hydrogen of 10(23) per square centimeter (pressure, approximately 0.3 millibar). Carbon emissions from the Uranian atmosphere were also detected.     

Large-scale variations in the obliquity of Mars

Large-scale variations in the obliquity of the planet Mars are produced by a coupling between the motion of its orbit plane due to the gravitational perturbations of the other planets and the precession of its spin axis which results from the solar torque exerted on the equatorial bulge of the planet. The obliquity oscillates on a time scale of approximately 1.2 x 10(5) years. The amplitude of this oscillation itself varies periodically on a time scale of 1.2 X 10(6) years. The present-day obliquity is approximately 25.1 degrees. The maximum possible variation is from about 14.9 to 35.5 degrees. Signtificant climatic effects must be associated with the phenomenon.     

Depletion of the Outer Asteroid Belt

During the early history of the solar system, it is likely that the outer planets changed their distance from the sun, and hence, their influence on the asteroid belt evolved with time. The gravitational influence of Jupiter and Saturn on the orbital evolution of asteroids in the outer asteroid belt was calculated. The results show that the sweeping of mean motion resonances associated with planetary migration efficiently destabilizes orbits in the outer asteroid belt on a time scale of 10 million years. This mechanism provides an explanation for the observed depletion of asteroids in that region.