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Ultraviolet observations of the Saturnian north aurora and polar haze distribution with the HST-FOCNear simultaneous observations of the Saturnian H2 north ultraviolet aurora and the polar haze were made at 153 nm and 210 nm respectively with the Faint Object Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The auroral observations cover a complete rotation of the planet and, when co-added, reveal the presence of an auroral emission near 80 deg N with a peak brightness of about 150 kR of total H2 emission. The maximum optical depth of the polar haze layer is found to be located approximately 5 deg equatorward of the auroral emission zone. The haze particles are presumably formed by hydrocarbon aerosols initiated by H2+ auroral production. In this case, the observed haze optical depth requires an efficiency of aerosol formation of about 6 percent, indicating that auroral production of hydrocarbon aerosols is a viable source of high-latitude haze.
Document ID
19960001904
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Contractor Report (CR)
Authors
Gerard, J. C. (Liege Univ. Belgium)
Dols, V. (Liege Univ. Belgium)
Grodent, D. (Liege Univ. Belgium)
Waite, J. H. (Southwest Research Inst. San Antonio, TX., United States)
Gladstone, G. R. (Southwest Research Inst. San Antonio, TX., United States)
Prange, R. (Paris XI Univ. Orsay, France)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
February 1, 1995
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Report/Patent Number
NASA-CR-199241
NAS 1.26:199241
Accession Number
96N11912
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-3624
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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