Elsevier

Icarus

Volume 64, Issue 2, November 1985, Pages 233-248
Icarus

Infrared polar brightening on Jupiter: III. Spectrometry from the Voyager 1 IRIS experiment

https://doi.org/10.1016/0019-1035(85)90088-0Get rights and content

Abstract

Spectra from the Voyager 1 IRIS experiment confirm the existence of enhanced infrared emission near Jupiter's north magnetic pole in March 1979. The spectral characteristics of the enhanced emission are consistent with a Planck source function. A temperature-pressure profile is derived for the region near the north magnetic pole, from which quantitative abundance estimates of minor species are made. Some species previously detected on Jupiter, including CH3D, C2H2 and C2H6, have been observed again near the pole. Newly discovered species, not previously observed on Jupiter, include C2H4, C3H4, and C6H6. All of these species except CH3D appear to have enhanced abundances at the north polar region with respect to midlatitudes. Upper limits are determined for C4H2 and C3H8. The quantitative results are compared with model calculations based on ultraviolet results from the IUE satellite. The plausibility of the C6H6 identification in discussed in terms of the literature on C2H2 polymerization. The relation of C6H6 to cuprene is also discussed.

References (45)

  • K.F. Palmer et al.

    Investigations of several infrared bands of 12C2H2 and studies of the effects of vibrational-rotational interactions

    J. Mol. Spectrosc.

    (1972)
  • L.W. Pinkley et al.

    Analysis of the ν6 band of 12CH3D at 8.6 μm

    J. Mol. Spectrosc.

    (1977)
  • T. Scattergood et al.

    On the sources of ultraviolet absorption in spectra of Titan and the outer planets

    Icarus

    (1977)
  • R.K. Thomas et al.

    Vibration-rotation band of methyl acetylene

    Spectrochim. Acta, Part A

    (1968)
  • R.R. Treffers et al.

    Upper limits to trace constituents in Jupiter's atmosphere from an analysis of its 5-μm spectrum

    Icarus

    (1978)
  • R. Wagener et al.

    The Jovian stratosphere in the ultraviolet

    Icarus

    (1985)
  • S.K. Atreya et al.

    Jupiter: Structure and composition of the upper atmosphere

    Astrophys. J.

    (1981)
  • J. Caldwell et al.

    Temporal characteristics of the Jovian atmosphere

    Astrophys. J.

    (1979)
  • J. Caldwell et al.

    Further observations of 8 μm polar brightenings of Jupiter

    Icarus

    (1982)
  • J.T. Clarke et al.

    The far-ultraviolet spectra and geometric albedos of Jupiter and Saturn

    Astrophys. J.

    (1982)
  • J.E.P. Connerney et al.

    Modeling the Jovian current sheet and inner magnetosphere

    J. Geophys. Res.

    (1981)
  • B.L. Dunicz

    The mechanism of the photochemical change of acetylene

    J. Amer. Chem. Soc.

    (1941)
  • Cited by (136)

    • Jupiter's auroral-related stratospheric heating and chemistry III: Abundances of C <inf>2</inf> H <inf>4</inf> , CH <inf>3</inf> C <inf>2</inf> H, C <inf>4</inf> H <inf>2</inf> and C <inf>6</inf> H <inf>6</inf> from Voyager-IRIS and Cassini-CIRS

      2019, Icarus
      Citation Excerpt :

      High-energy ions and electrons from the Jovian magnetosphere and solar wind are injected into the neutral atmosphere and deposit their energy at pressures as deep as the 1-mbar level (Flasar et al., 2004), or approximately 175 km above the 1-bar level. The resulting charged particle precipitation, ion drag and Joule heating exemplify processes that warm the stratosphere and mesosphere, thereby enhancing the mid-infrared emission features of stratospheric species such as CH4 (methane), C2H2 (acetylene),C2H4 (ethylene) and C2H6 (Caldwell et al., 1980; Caldwell et al., 1983; Drossart et al., 1993; Kim et al., 1985; Kostiuk et al., 1993; Livengood et al., 1993). The increased flux of electrons in the auroral regions also drives increased rates of ion-neutral and electron-recombination reactions, thereby modifying the chemistry in the auroral regions with respect to non-auroral regions and lower latitudes (Sinclair et al., 2017b; Sinclair et al., 2018).

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    1

    Present address: National Space Science Data Center, Code 633, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 20771.

    View full text