Jupiter's microwave spectrum - Implications for the upper atmosphere

Abstract

It is shown through the use of weighting functions that Jupiter's brightness temperature in the wavelength range 0.8-1.5 cm contains information on the thermal structure and abundance of ammonia in and above the tropopause in Jupiter's atmosphere. We present new data of Jupiter's brightness temperature in this wavelength range, and compare the results with theoretical spectra. The pressure in the Jovian atmosphere is estimated from these data to be 0.48 atm at 130 K.