Publication Date:
2019-06-27
Description:
Measurements of sodium D-line emission from Io are reported which were made during synoptic patrols of the 1975 and 1974 apparitions. Corrected equivalent widths of the D lines are plotted against the satelliite's orbital phase reckoned from superior heliocentric conjunction, and quantitative results of selected patrol observations are provided. The results indicate that: (1) resonant scattering is most likely the dominant emission mechanism; (2) the mechanism which injects neutral sodium into the space immediately around Io underwent no major secular variation in the period between the two apparitions; (3) a less pronounced asymmetry between the peak emission rates at 90-deg and 270-deg orbital phases is present in the selected data; and (4) the measured D2/D1 intensity ratios are consistent with a value of 1.6 + or - 0.3, which corresponds to a value of the order of unity for the maximum optical depth possible for resonant scattering the D1 line center. It is suggested that an unexplained scatter of about 20% in the general emission levels is due to a variation in the ionization rate.
Keywords:
LUNAR AND PLANETARY EXPLORATION
Type:
Astrophysical Journal; 211; Jan. 1
Format:
text
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