Publication Date:
2011-08-18
Description:
An analysis of the v(4) band of CH4 in the spectra recorded by the Voyager 1 IRIS experiment has yielded a C-12/C-13 ratio in Jupiter that is 160 plus 40 or minus 55, or 1.8 plus 0.4 or minus 0.6 times the terrestrial value. It is noted that while no plausible theory predicts such a difference between the C-12/C-13 ratio values of Jupiter and the inner solar system, values of this ratio in the solar neighborhood 4.5 million years ago, inferred from recent interstellar medium measurements, are compatible with the present determination in Jupiter. The Jovian, rather than the terrestrial value, would then be representative of the carbon isotope ratio in the primitive solar nebula.
Keywords:
LUNAR AND PLANETARY EXPLORATION
Type:
Icarus; 53; Jan. 198
Format:
text
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