Io volcanism seen by new horizons: a major eruption of the Tvashtar volcano

Jupiter's moon Io is known to host active volcanoes. In February and March 2007, the New Horizons spacecraft obtained a global snapshot of Io's volcanism. A 350-kilometer-high volcanic plume was seen to emanate from the Tvashtar volcano (62 degrees N, 122 degrees W), and its motion was observed. The plume's morphology and dynamics support nonballistic models of large Io plumes and also suggest that most visible plume particles condensed within the plume rather than being ejected from the source. In images taken in Jupiter eclipse, nonthermal visible-wavelength emission was seen from individual volcanoes near Io's sub-Jupiter and anti-Jupiter points. Near-infrared emission from the brightest volcanoes indicates minimum magma temperatures in the 1150- to 1335-kelvin range, consistent with basaltic composition.     

Jupiter's nightside airglow and aurora

Observations of Jupiter's nightside airglow (nightglow) and aurora obtained during the flyby of the New Horizons spacecraft show an unexpected lack of ultraviolet nightglow emissions, in contrast to the case during the Voyager flybys in 1979. The flux and average energy of precipitating electrons generally decrease with increasing local time across the nightside, consistent with a possible source region along the dusk flank of Jupiter's magnetosphere. Visible emissions associated with the interaction of Jupiter and its satellite Io extend to a surprisingly high altitude, indicating localized low-energy electron precipitation. These results indicate that the interaction between Jupiter's upper atmosphere and near-space environment is variable and poorly understood; extensive observations of the day side are no guide to what goes on at night.     

ROSAT Observations of X-ray Emissions from Jupiter During the Impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

R?ntgensatellit (ROSAT) observations made shortly before and during the collision of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter show enhanced x-ray emissions from the planet's northern high latitudes. These emissions, which occur at System III longitudes where intensity enhancements have previously been observed in Jupiter's ultraviolet aurora, appear to be associated with the comet fragment impacts in Jupiter's southern hemisphere and may represent brightenings of the jovian x-ray aurora caused either by the fragment impacts themselves or by the passage of the fragments and associated dust clouds through Jupiter's inner magnetosphere.     

Views of Earth's magnetosphere with the image satellite

The IMAGE spacecraft uses photon and neutral atom imaging and radio sounding techniques to provide global images of Earth's inner magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. Auroral imaging at ultraviolet wavelengths shows that the proton aurora is displaced equatorward with respect to the electron aurora and that discrete auroral forms at higher latitudes are caused almost completely by electrons. Energetic neutral atom imaging of ions injected into the inner magnetosphere during magnetospheric disturbances shows a strong energy-dependent drift that leads to the formation of the ring current by ions in the several tens of kiloelectron volts energy range. Ultraviolet imaging of the plasmasphere has revealed two unexpected features-a premidnight trough region and a dayside shoulder region-and has confirmed the 30-year-old theory of the formation of a plasma tail extending from the duskside plasmasphere toward the magnetopause.     

Cassini imaging of Jupiter's atmosphere,satellites, and rings

The Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem acquired about 26,000 images of the Jupiter system as the spacecraft encountered the giant planet en route to Saturn. We report findings on Jupiter's zonal winds, convective storms, low-latitude upper troposphere, polar stratosphere, and northern aurora. We also describe previously unseen emissions arising from Io and Europa in eclipse, a giant volcanic plume over Io's north pole, disk-resolved images of the satellite Himalia, circumstantial evidence for a causal relation between the satellites Metis and Adrastea and the main jovian ring, and information on the nature of the ring particles.     

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.     

Hydrogen Sulfide on IO: Evidence from Telescopic and Laboratory Infrared Spectra

Evidence is reported for hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) on Io's surface. An infrared band at 3.915 (+/- 0.015) micrometers in several ground-based spectra of Io can be accounted for by reflectance from H(2)S frost deposited on or cocondensed with sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) frost. Temporal variation in the occurrence and intensity of the band suggests that condensed H(2)S on Io's surface is transient, implying a similar variation of H(2)S abundance in Io's atmosphere. The band was observed in full-disk measurements of Io at several orbital longitudes, including once at 24 degrees ( approximately 0.5 hour after Io's reappearance after an eclipse)-but not after another reappearance at 22 degrees -and once at 95 degrees (on Io's leading hemisphere). These results suggest that condensed H(2)S is sparse and variable but can be widespread on Io's surface. When present, it would not only produce the infrared band but would brighten Io's typical surface at ultraviolet and visible wavelengths.     

Jupiter's Magnetic Field. Magnetosphere, and Interaction with the Solar Wind: Pioneer 11

The Pioneer 11 vector helium magnetometer provided precise, contititious measurements of the magnetic fields in interplanetary space, inside Jupiter's magnetosphere, and in the near vicinity of Jupiter. As with the Pioneer 10 data, evidence was seen of the dynanmic interaction of Jupiter with the solar wind which leads to a variety of phenomena (bow shock, upstream waves, nonlinear magnetosheath impulses) and to changes in the dimension of the dayside magnetosphere by as much as a factor of 2. The magnetosphere clearly appears to be blunt, not disk-shaped, with a well-defined outer boundary. In the outer magnetosphere, the magnetic field is irregular but exhibits a persistent southward component indicative of a closed magnetosphere. The data contain the first clear evidence in the dayside magnetosphere of the current sheet, apparently associated with centrifugal forces, that was a donminatnt feature of the outbound Pionieer 10 data. A modest westward spiraling of the field was again evident inbound but not outbound at higher latitudes and nearer the Sun-Jupiter direction. Measurements near periapsis, which were nearer the planet and provide better latitude and longitude coverage than Pioneer 10, have revealed a 5 percent discrepancy with the Pioneer 10 offset dipole mnodel (D(2)). A revised offset dipole (6-parameter fit) is presented as well as the results of a spherical harmonic analysis (23 parameters) consisting of an interior dipole, quadrupole, and octopole and an external dipole and quadrupole. The dipole moment and the composite field appear moderately larger than inferred from Pioneer 10. Maximum surface fields of 14 and 11 gauss in the northern and southern hemispheres are inferred. Jupiter's planetary field is found to be slightly more irregular than that of Earth.     

Voyager 1: energetic ions and electrons in the jovian magnetosphere

The observations of the cosmic-ray subsystem have added significantly to our knowledge of Jupiter's magnetosphere. The most surprising result is the existence of energetic sulfur, sodium, and oxygen nuclei with energies above 7 megaelectron volts per nucleon which were found inside of Io's orbit. Also, significant fluxes of similarly energetic ions reflecting solar cosmic-ray composition were observed throughout the magnetosphere beyond 11 times the radius of Jupiter. It was also found that energetic protons are enhanced by 30 to 70 percent in the active hemisphere. Finally, the first observations were made of the magnetospheric tail in the dawn direction out to 160 Jupiter radii.     

Pioneer 11 encounter: preliminary results from the ames research center plasma analyzer experiment

Pioneer 11 observations of the interaction of Jupiter's magnetosphere with the distant solar wind have confirmed the earlier Pioneer 10 observations of the great size and extreme variability of the outer magnetosphere. The nature of the plasma transitions across Jupiter's bow shock and magnetopause as observed on Pioneer 10 have also been confirmed on Pioneer 11. However, the northward direction of the Pioneer 11 outbound trajectory and the distance of the final magnetopause crossing (80 Jupiter radii) now suggest that Jupiter's magnetosphere is extremely broad with a half-thickness (normal to the ecliptic plane in the noon meridian) which is comparable to or greater than the sunward distance to the nose.     

Extreme ultraviolet observations from the voyager 2 encounter with saturn

Combined analysis of helium (584 angstroms) airglow and the atmospheric occultations of the star delta Scorpii imply a vertical mixing parameter in Saturn's upper atmosphere of K (eddy diffusion coefficient) approximately 8 x 10(7) square centimeters per second, an order of magnitude more vigorous than mixing in Jupiter's upper atmosphere. Atmospheric H(2) band absorption of starlight yields a preliminary temperature of 400 K in the exosphere and a temperature near the homopause of approximately 200 K. The energy source for the mid-latitude H(2) band emission still remains a puzzle. Certain auroral emissions can be fully explained in terms of electron impact on H(2), and auroral morphology suggests a link between the aurora and the Saturn kilometric radiation. Absolute optical depths have been determined for the entire C ring andparts of the A and B rings. A new eccentric ringlet has been detected in the C ring. The extreme ultraviolet reflectance of the rings is fairly uniform at 3.5 to 5 percent. Collisions may control the distribution of H in Titan's H torus, which has a total vertical extent of approximately 14 Saturn radii normal to the orbit plane.     

Voyager 1 planetary radio astronomy observations near jupiter

We report results from the first low-frequency radio receiver to be transported into the Jupiter magnetosphere. We obtained dramatic new information, both because Voyager was near or in Jupiter's radio emission sources and also because it was outside the relatively dense solar wind plasma of the inner solar system. Extensive radio spectral arcs, from above 30 to about 1 megahertz, occurred in patterns correlated with planetary longitude. A newly discovered kilometric wavelength radio source may relate to the plasma torus near Io's orbit. In situ wave resonances near closest approach define an electron density profile along the Voyager trajectory and form the basis for a map of the torus. Detailed studies are in progress and are out-lined briefly.     

Magnetic field studies at jupiter by voyager 1: preliminary results

Results obtained by the Goddard Space Flight Center magnetometers on Voyager 1 are described. These results concern the large-scale configuration of the Jovian bow shock and magnetopause, and the magnetic field in both the inner and outer magnetosphere. There is evidence that a magnetic tail extending away from the planet on the nightside is formed by the solar wind-Jovian field interaction. This is much like Earth's magnetosphere but is a new configuration for Jupiter's magnetosphere not previously considered from earlier Pioneer data. We report on the analysis and interpretation of magnetic field perturbations associated with intense electrical currents (approximately 5 x 10(6) amperes) flowing near or in the magnetic flux tube linking Jupiter with the satellite Jo and induced by the relative motion between Io and the corotating Jovian magnetosphere. These currents may be an important source of heating the ionosphere and interior of Io through Joule dissipation.     

New surprises in the largest magnetosphere of our solar system

En route to its ultimate rendezvous with Pluto, the New Horizons spacecraft passed through the magnetic and plasma environment of Jupiter in February 2007. Onboard instruments collected high-resolution images, spectroscopic data, and information about charged particles. The results have revealed unusual structure and variation in Jupiter's plasma and large plasmoids that travel down the magnetotail. Data on Jupiter's aurora provide details of the interaction with the solar wind, and a major volcanic eruption from the moon Io was observed during the encounter.     

Plasma Composition in Jupiter's Magnetosphere: Initial Results from the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer

The ion composition in the Jovian environment was investigated with the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer on board Ulysses. A hot tenuous plasma was observed throughout the outer and middle magnetosphere. In some regions two thermally different components were identified. Oxygen and sulfur ions with several different charge states, from the volcanic satellite lo, make the largest contribution to the mass density of the hot plasma, even at high latitude. Solar wind particles were observed in all regions investigated. Ions from Jupiter's ionosphere were abundant in the middle magnetosphere, particularly in the highlatitude region on the dusk side, which was traversed for the first time.     

Preliminary results on the plasma environment of saturn from the pioneer 11 plasma analyzer experiment

The Ames Research Center Pioneer 11 plasma analyzer experiment provided measurements of the solar wind interaction with Saturn and the character of the plasma environment within Saturn's magnetosphere. It is shown that Saturn has a detached bow shock wave and magnetopause quite similar to those at Earth and Jupiter. The scale size of the interaction region for Saturn is roughly one-third that at Jupiter, but Saturn's magnetosphere is equally responsive to changes in the solar wind dynamic pressure. Saturn's outer magnetosphere is inflated, as evidenced by the observation of large fluxes of corotating plasma. It is postulated that Saturn's magnetosphere may undergo a large expansion when the solar wind pressure is greatly diminished by the presence of Jupiter's extended magnetospheric tail when the two planets are approximately aligned along the same solar radial vector.     

Melting of io by tidal dissipation

The dissipation of tidal energy in Jupiter's satellite Io is likely to have melted a major fraction of the mass. Consequences of a largely molten interior may be evident in pictures of Io's surface returned by Voyager I.     

Io's Sodium Cloud

The first two-dimensional images of the source region of Io's neutral sodium cloud have been acquired by ground-based observation. Observed asymmetries in its spatial brightness distribution provide new evidence that the cloud is supplied by sodium that is ejected nonisotropically from Io or its atmosphere. Complementary, high-time-resolution, calibrated image sequences that give the first comprehensive picture of the variations of the fainter regions of the cloud extending more than 10(5) kilometers from Io were also obtained. These data demonstrate that the cloud exhibits a persistent systematic behavior coupled with Io's orbital position, a distinct "east-west orbital asymmetry," a variety of spatial morphologies, and true temporal changes. The geometric stability of the sodium source is also indicated. Isolation of the cloud's temporal changes constitutes an important milestone toward its utilization as a long-term probe of Io and the inner Jovian magnetosphere.     

A remarkable auroral event on jupiter observed in the ultraviolet with the hubble space telescope

Two sets of ultraviolet images of the Jovian north aurora were obtained with the Faint Object Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The first series shows an intense discrete arc in near corotation with the planet. The maximum apparent molecular hydrogen emission rate corresponds to an electron precipitation of approximately 1 watt per square meter, which is about 30,000 times larger than the solar heating by extreme ultraviolet radiation. Such a particle heating rate of the auroral upper atmosphere of Jupiter should cause a large transient temperature increase and generate strong thermospheric winds. Twenty hours after initial observation, the discrete arc had decreased in brightness by more than one order of magnitude. The time scale and magnitude of the change in the ultraviolet aurora leads us to suggest that the discrete Jovian auroral precipitation is related to large-scale variations in the current system, as is the case for Earth's discrete aurorae.     

Magnetospheric dayside cusp: a topside view of its 6300-angstrom atomic oxygen emission

An interference filter photometer on the ISIS-1l spacecraft generates global maps of the atomic oxygen emission at 6300 angstroms from the ionosphere. The most prominent feature observed is a band of permanent red aurora on the dayside of the earth, centered on magnetic noon at about 78 degrees magnetic (invariant) latitude, brighter than the quiet-time nightside aurora.