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NASA NTRS1992

High resolution measurements of density structures in the Jovian plasma sheet

A recent effort to digitize the plasma density by using the low frequency cutoff of trapped continuum radiation in the vicinity of the Jovian plasma sheet has revealed the existence of sharply defined density structures in the plasma sheet. These structures typically have a plasma density which is relatively constant but of order 50 percent greater or less than in the surrounding plasma. At the boundaries of these structures, the transitions from low to high density occur on time scales of about ten seconds, which correspond to spatial dimensions on the order of a few ion Larmor radii. The structures themselves last for intervals from less than a minute to more than five minutes, corresponding to size scales from a fraction of a Jovian radius to more than a Jovian radius, depending on the velocity of the structure relative to the spacecraft. In view of the importance of near corotation plasma flows, these structures are likely to be limited in both the longitudinal and radial dimensions and, therefore, could represent flux tubes with greatly varying plasma content. These observations are presented as among the first to directly address the theoretically proposed interchange instability.

Ansher, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Source characteristics of Jovian narrow-band kilometric radio emissions

New observations of Jovian narrow-band kilometric (nKOM) radio emissions were made by the Unified Radio and Plasma Wave (URAP) experiment on the Ulysses spacecraft during the Ulysses-Jupiter encounter in early February 1992. These observations have demonstrated the unique capability of the URAP instrument for determining both the direction and polarization of nKOM radio sources. An important result is the discovery that nKOM radio emission originates from a number of distinct sources located at different Jovian longitudes and at the inner and outermost regions of the Io plasma torus. These sources have been tracked for several Jovian rotations, yielding their corotational lags, their spatial and temporal evolution, and their radiation characteristics at both low latitudes far from Jupiter and at high latitudes near the planet. Both right-hand and left-hand circularly polarized nKOM sources were observed. The polarizations observed for sources in the outermost regions of the torus seem to favor extraordinary mode emission.

Reiner, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A new component of Jovian kilometric radio emission

Evidence is presented for a new Jovian radio emission component in the frequency range from approximately 40 to approximately 200 kHz observed during the Ulysses-Jupiter outbound pass at high Jovian southern latitudes along the dusk terminator. The new radio component (referred to as sKOM) occurs in the same frequency range as the observed broadband kilometric (bKOM) radio emission, but its characteristics are distinctly different. It has the opposite polarization, is about 100 times weaker, and has a characteristically smooth intensity profile. It is consistently observed in the longitudinal range from approximately 120 degs to approximately 230 degs central meridian longitude, where the intermittent bKOM is often absent, and is found to originate in the Jovian magnetosphere about 5R(sub j) from Jupiter and at a latitude of about 35 deg S. Its observed right-hand circular polarization suggests that it is generated in the O mode in the source region.

Reiner, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Numerical simulation of baroclinic Jovian vortices

We examine the evolution of baroclinic vortices in a time-dependent, nonlinear numerical model of a Jovian atmosphere. The model uses a normal-mode expansion in the vertical, using the barotropic and first two baroclinic modes. Results for the stability of baroclinic vortices on an f plane in the absence of a mean zonal flow are similar to results of Earth vortex models, although the presence of a fluid interior on the Jovian planets shifts the stability boundaries to smaller length scales. The presence of a barotropic mean zonal flow in the interior stabilizes vortices against instability and significantly modifies the finite amplitude form of baroclinic instabilities. The effect of a zonal flow on a form of barotropic instability produces periodic oscillations in the latitude and longitude of the vortex as observed at the level of the cloud tops. This instability may explain some, but not all, observations of longitudinal oscillations of vortices on the outer planets. Oscillations in aspect ratio and orientation of stable vortices in a zonal shear flow are observed in this baroclinic model, as in simpler two-dimensional models. Such oscillations are also observed in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Neptune. The meridional propagation and decay of vortices on a beta plane is inhibited by the presence of a mean zonal flow. The direction of propagation of a vortex relative to the mean zonal flow depends upon the sign of the meridional potential vorticity gradient; combined with observations of vortex drift rates, this may provide a constraint on model assumption for the flow in the deep interior of the Jovian planets.

Achterberg, Richard K.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The source of Jovian auroral hiss observed by Voyager 1

Observations of auroral hiss obtained from the Voyager 1 encounter with Jupiter have been reanalyzed. The Jovian auroral hiss was observed near the inner boundary of the warm Io torus and has a low-frequency cutoff caused by propagation near the resonance cone. A simple ray tracing procedure using an offset tilted dipole of the Jovian magnetic field is used to determine possible source locations. The results obtained are consistent with two sources located symmetrically with respect to the centrifugal equator along an L shell (L approximately = 5.59) that is coincident with the boundary between the hot and cold regions of the Io torus and is located just inward of the ribbon feature observed from Earth. The distance of the sources from the centrifugal equator is approximately 0.58 +/- 0.01 R(sub J). Based on the similarity to terrestrial auroral hiss, the Jovian is auroral hiss is believed to be generated by beams of low energy (approximately tens to thousands of eV) electrons. The low-frequency cutoff of the auroral hiss suggests that the electrons are accelerated near the inferred source region, possibly by parallel electric fields similar to those existing in the terrestrial auroral regions. A field-aligned current is inferred to exist at L shells just inward of the plasma ribbon. A possible mechanism for driving this current is discussed.

Morgan, D. D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Correlated variations of UV and radio emissions during an outstanding Jovian auroral event

An exceptional Jovian aurora was detected in the FUV on December 21, 1990, by means of Vilspa and Goddard Space Flight Center (GFSC) International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) observations. This event included intensification by a factor of three between December 20 and 21, leading to the brightest aurora identified in the IUE data analyzed, and, in the north, to a shift of the emission peak towards larger longitudes. The Jovian radio emission simultaneously recorded at decameter wavelengths in Nancay also exhibits significant changes, from a weak and short-duration emission on December 20 to a very intense one, lasting several hours, on December 21. Confirmation of this intense radio event is also found in the observations at the University of Florida on December 21. The emissions are identified as right-handed Io-independent 'A' (or 'non Io-A') components from the northern hemisphere. The radio source region deduced from the Nancay observations lies, for both days, close to the UV peak emission, exhibiting in particular a similar shift of the source region toward larger longitudes from one day to the next. A significant broadening of the radio source was also observed and it is shown that on both days, the extent of the radio source closely followed the longitude range for which the UV brightness exceeds a given threshold. The correlated variations, both in intensity and longitude, strongly suggest that a common cause triggered the variation of the UV and radio emissions during this exceptional event. On one hand, the variation of the UV aurora could possibly be interpreted according to the Prange and Elkhamsi (1991) model of diffuse multicomponent auroral precipitation (electron and ion): it would arise from an increase in the precipitation rate of ions together with an inward shift of their precipitation locus from L approximately equal 10 to L approximately equal 6. On the other hand, the analysis of Ulysses observations in the upstream solar wind suggests that a significant disturbance in the solar wind, involving the generation of an interplanetary shock and the presence of a CME have interacted with the Jovian magnetosphere at about the time of the auroral event. Both arguments suggest that we may have observed for the first time a magnetic storm-type interaction in an outer planet magnetosphere, affecting simultaneously several auroral processes. Conversely, the observed relationship between the level of UV auroral activity and the detection of decameter emission (DAM), if it were a typical feature, might argue in favour of a more direct and permanent association between the auroral processes leading to UV and radio aurorae, possibly related to 'discrete-arc'-like activity and electron precipitation.

Prange, R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Ulysses plasma observations in the Jovian magnetosheath

The solar wind plasma experiment aboard the Ulysses spacecraft, including separate ion and electron instruments, measured the plasma properties of the Jovian magnetosheath during the February 1992 encounter with Jupiter. Seven separate magnetosheath intervals were observed, as well as four bow shock crossings and numerous encounters with the magnetopause and its boundary layer. We present an overview of ion and electron bulk parameters and a sampling of distribution shapes for the magnetosheath and adjacent plasma regions. Plasma flows are generally appropriate for slowing and deflection of the solar wind flow about a relatively stationary obstacle, with the notable exception of the first inbound sheath transit, when an expanding magnetosphere resulted in sunward flow just above the magnetopause. The existence of a planetary depletion layer is suggested by trends in plasma density for some magnetopause encounters. The magnetopause boundary layer is characterized by a combination of sheathlike and magnetospheric distributions of both ions and electrons. The ion population in the sheath is observed to include a significant population of suprathermal protons. Electron distributions have a distinctive shape previously observed in the terrestrial magnetosheath, with fluxes parallel to the magnetic field dominating at thermal energies and perpendicular fluxes dominating at higher energies. Trends in electron temperature near the bow shock indicate that shock motion plays an important role in heating the electrons. In general, the plasma characteristics of the Jovian magnetosheath are quite similar to those in its terrestrial counterpart, but the compressible nature of the Jovian magnetosphere accentuates the importance of boundary motions.

Phillips, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The morphology of the north Jovian ultraviolet aurora observed with the Hubble Space Telescope

A series of six images covering a complete rotation of the north polar region of Jupiter were obtained in February 1993 with the Faint Object Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). These images provide the first global picture of the morphology of the Jovian ultraviolet aurora observed from Earth orbit. The camera passband was centered near 153 nm, a region dominated by the H2 Lyman bands and continuum. The successive exposures, taken approximately 90 min apart, are used to construct a polar view of the auroral zone. It is found that the auroral emissions do not exactly follow the footprint of a constant L-shell although the size of the oval and its location agree best with the footprints of the approximately equal to 30 R(sub J) field line in the GSFC O6 model of the Jovian magnetic field. The displacement between the observed auroral zone and the theoretical oval may indicate a possible distortion of the Jovian magnetic field lines near the surface. A comparison with two images at the same wavelength obtained 8 months earlier shows that the main morphological features are persistent, in spite of changes in the detailed emission distribution. Small scale features with characteristic sizes of approximately 1000 km are observed along the auroral oval. The change of morphology observed as a function of the System 3 longitude appears as a persistent characteristic of the morphology of the north polar aurora.

Gerard, Jean-Claude↗
NASA NTRS1996

Modeling of Jovian Hectometric Radiation Source Locations: Ulysses Observations

The Unified Radio and Plasma Wave (URAP) experiment on Ulysses has provided unique high latitude measurements of Jovian hectometric radiation (HOM) during its encounter with Jupiter in February 1992. URAP was the first radio instrument in the Jovian environment with radio direction-finding capability, which was previously used to determine the HOM source locations in the Jovian magnetosphere. These initial source location determinations were based on several assumptions, including the neglect of refractive effects, which may be tested. We have, for the first time, combined the measured incident ray-direction at the spacecraft with a model magnetosphere to directly trace the rays back to the HOM source. We concentrate on the observations of HOM from high northern latitudes when Ulysses was at distances less than 15 R(sub j). The three- dimensional ray-tracing calculations presented here indicate that the HOM sources probably lie on L shells in the range 3 less than or approximately equal to L less than 7 (tilted dipole magnetic field model) consistent with previous determinations that ignored the effects of refraction. The ray-tracing results, however, indicate that wave refraction due to the Io torus and the magnetic field can significantly influence the precise source location. We show that constraints on the locations imposed by the gyroemission mechanism suggest that the lo torus density may have experienced temporal and/or spatial fluctuations during the Ulysses observations of HOM. Finally, in the cold plasma approximation we demonstrate that even if the emission were nearly linearly polarized near the source region, almost circular polarization will be observed at Ulysses, in agreement with observations.

Menietti, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1997

The Encounter of P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 with the Jovian Plasma and Extended Sodium Cloud

The encounter of comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter during July, 1994, provided an unprecedented opportunity to observe any potential perturbations in the Jovian plasma torus and extended sodium cloud as the comet entered the planet's atmosphere. Though the most obvious affect of the encounter was the distinctive response of the visible disk to the impact of the cometary fragments, the potential disruptions to the extended Jovian atmosphere and the restoration of the system to equilibrium also provided a test for the current interpretation of the Jovian plasma torus and sodium magneto-nebula. The observations that were performed for this grant were made by a complementary group of researchers and could not have been made if the individuals worked singly. In a sense, the exciting opportunity provided by this astronomical event also provided a mechanism to test the potential of pooling limited resources from several sources to construct a state-of-the-art spectrally resolving instrument, to acquire the necessary time and resources from institutions that maintain world-class optical telescopes, to perform the observations with the assistance of students, and to analyze the data sets.

Niciejewski, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Simultaneous Observation of Jovian Radio Emissions by Cassini and Wind

During the Cassini instrument checkout interval in January 1999 as the spacecraft was making a distant (0.6 AU) swing by Earth, the radio and plasma wave receiver (RPWS) detected radio emission from the sun, Earth, and Jupiter, the latter including both the hectometric (HOM) and decametric (DAM) components. The WAVES experiment on the Wind spacecraft in orbit near Earth was also making observations of Jupiter at this same time. By combining the RPWS and WAVES data sets, we are able to provide some insight into the instantaneous beaming of Jovian radio emissions. As seen by Jupiter, Cassini and Wind were a few degrees apart during this period, yet the correlation between Jovian DAM arcs observed by the two spacecraft suggests that the beam width is even narrower and does not simultaneously illuminate both. The only earlier spacecraft capable, in principle, of making these observations were Voyager-1 and 2, but their sensitivity to DAM emissions was too limited to reliably measure the instantaneous beaming. The beam width implied by the RPWS-WAVES measurements is approximately the same as the angle through which Jupiter rotates while an arc (at a fixed frequency) is visible. The HOM Jovian emissions, on the other hand, seem similar as observed by RPWS and WAVES, consistent with earlier Wind-Ulysses measurements indicating a somewhat broader beam width.

Kaiser, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Initial Results from the Jovian Electrodynamic Tether Systems (JETS) Study

The Jovian system with its rapid planetary rotation and strong magnetic field presents exciting opportunities for the use of electrodynamic (EM) tethers in system applications on a Jovian spacecraft. Previous analysis for a radial, 10 km length tether demonstrated the possibility of propulsive forces as large as 50 N and power generation levels as high as 10(exp 6) W for low perijov passing trajectories. For orbital positions beyond approximately 2.5 Jovian radii, JETS can be used simultaneously for power and increases in the orbital altitude. Previous study demonstrated the physical feasibility of EM tether use at Jupiter, but did not address the issues of limited gravity gradient force for tether extension and power regulation needed before JETS can be implemented as a practical spacecraft system. This presentation will discuss these issues and current progress in an ongoing systems feasibility study.

Gallagher, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Initial Results From The Jovian Electrodynamic Tether Systems (JETS) Study

The Jovian system with its rapid planetary rotation and strong magnetic field presents exciting opportunities for the use of electrodynamic (EM) tethers in system applications on a Jovian spacecraft. Previous analysis for a radial, 10-km length tether demonstrated the possibility of propulsive forces as large as 50 N and power generation levels as high as 10^6 W for low perijov passing trajectories. For orbital positions beyond approximately 15 Jovian radii, JETS can be used simultaneously for power and increases in the orbital altitude. Previous study demonstrated the physical feasibility of EM tether use at Jupiter, but did not address the issues of limited gravity gradient force for tether extension and power regulation needed before JETS can be implemented as a practical spacecraft system. This presentation will discuss these issues and current progress in an ongoing systems feasibility study.

Gallagher, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Magnetic Fluctuations in the Jovian Magnetosphere

The engine that drives the jovian magnetosphere is the mass added to the Io ion torus, accelerated to corotational velocities by field-aligned currents that couple the Io torus to the jovian ionosphere. The mass of the torus builds up to an amount that the magnetic forces cannot contain and the plasma, first slowly and then more rapidly, drifts outward. Numerous authors have treated this problem based first on the observations of the Pioneer 10 and 11 flybys; then on Voyager 1 and 2, and Ulysses; and finally most recently the Galileo orbiter. The initial observations revealed the now familiar magnetodisk, in which the field above and below the magnetic equator became quite radial in orientation and much less dipolar. The Galileo observations show this transformation to occur on average at 24 R(sub J) and to often be quite abrupt. These observations are consistent with outward transport of magnetized plasma that moves ever faster radially until about 50 R(sub J) on the nightside where the field lines stretch to the breaking point, reconnection occurs, and plasma and field islands are transported down the tail ultimately removing the mass from the magnetosphere that Io had deposited deep in the inner torus. The reconnection process creates empty flux tubes connected to Jupiter that are buoyant and thought to float inward and replace the flux carried out with the torus plasma. As described above, the jovian magnetosphere could very well be in a state of steady laminar circulation, but indeed it is not. The process is very unsteady and the wave levels can be very intense. The existence of these waves in turn can lead to processes that compete with the radial circulation pattern in removing plasma from the system. These waves can scatter particles so that they precipitate into the ionosphere. This process should be important in the Io torus where the atmospheric loss cone is relatively large and becomes less important as the loss cone decreases in size with radial distance. However, the Io torus is relatively quiet compared to the region outside the torus and it is not obvious without studying this scattering carefully whether the loss in the torus or out of the torus is greater and whether it can act rapidly enough to compete with the radial transport of ions to the tail in the life cycle of the mass added at Io. Closer to Io the ion cyclotron waves are most intense and possibly are associated with the losses in the Io flux tube. The waves are also diagnostic of both the Io atmospheric composition and the size and strength of the massloading process.

Russell, Christopher T.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Chandra X-Ray Observatory Observations of the Jovian System

Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) and XMM-Newton observations of x-rays from the Jovian system have answered questions that arose from early observations with the Einstein and Rosat X-ray Observatories, but in the process of vastly increasing our knowledge of x-ray emission from Jupiter and its environs they have also raised new questions and point to new opportunities for future studies. We will review recent x-ray results on the Jovian system, from the point of view of the CXO, and discuss various questions that have arisen in the course of our studies. We will discuss prospects for more observations in the immediate future, and how they might address open questions. Finally we will briefly describe ways in which an imaging x-ray spectrometer in the vicinity of the Jovian system could provide a wealth of data and results concerning Jupiter's x-ray auroral and disk emission, elemental abundance measurements for the Galilean moons, and detailed studies of x-ray emission from the Io Plasma Torus.

Elsner, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Jovian Chromophore Characteristics from Multispectral HST Images

The chromophores responsible for coloring the jovian atmosphere are embedded within Jupiter's vertical aerosol structure. Sunlight propagates through this vertical distribution of aerosol particles, whose colors are defined by omega-bar (sub 0)(lambda), and we remotely observe the culmination of the radiative transfer as I/F(lambda). In this study, we employed a radiative transfer code to retrieve omega-bar (sub 0)(lambda) for particles in Jupiter's tropospheric haze at seven wavelengths in the near-UV and visible regimes. The data consisted of images of the 2008 passage of Oval BA to the south of the Great Red Spot obtained by the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on-board the Hubble Space Telescope. We present derived particle colors for locations that were selected from 14 weather regions, which spanned a large range of observed colors. All omega-bar (sub 0)(lambda) curves were absorbing in the blue, and omega-bar (sub 0)(lambda) increased monotonically to approximately unity as wavelength increased. We found accurate fits to all omega-bar (sub 0)(lambda) curves using an empirically derived functional form: omega-bar (sub 0)(lambda) = 1 A exp(-B lambda). The best-fit parameters for the mean omega-bar (sub 0)(lambda) curve were A = 25.4 and B = 0.0149 for lambda in units of nm. We performed a principal component analysis (PCA) on our omega-bar (sub 0)(lambda) results and found that one or two independent chromophores were sufficient to produce the variations in omega-bar (sub 0)(lambda). A PCA of I/F(lambda) for the same jovian locations resulted in principal components (PCs) with roughly the same variances as the omega-bar (sub 0)(lambda) PCA, but they did not result in a one-to-one mapping of PC amplitudes between the omega-bar (sub 0)(lambda) PCA and I/F(lambda) PCA. We suggest that statistical analyses performed on I/ F(lambda) image cubes have limited applicability to the characterization of chromophores in the jovian atmosphere due to the sensitivity of 1/ F(lambda) to horizontal variations in the vertical aerosol distribution.

Strycker, Paul D.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Preliminary Results from a Coordinated Hisaki/Chandra/XMM-Newton Study of the Jovian Aurora and Io Plasma Torus

We present preliminary results from a coordinated Hisaki/Chandra/XMM-Newton observational campaign of the Jovian aurora and Io plasma torus. The data were taken over a three week period in April, 2014. Jupiter was observed continuously with Hisaki, six times with the Chandra/HRC instrument for roughly 12 hours per observation, and twice by XMM-Newton. The goal of this observational campaign was to understand how energy and matter are exchanged between the Jovian aurora, the IPT, and the Solar wind. X-ray observations provide key diagnostics on highly stripped ions and keV electrons in the Jovian magnetosphere. We use the temporal, spatial, and spectral capabilities of the three instruments to search for correlated variability between the Solar wind, the EUV-emitting plasma of the IPT and UV aurora, and the ions responsible for the X-ray aurora. Preliminary analysis suggests a strong 45 min periodicity in the EUV emission from the electron aurora. There is some evidence for complex variability of the X-ray auroras on scales of tens of minutes. There is also clear morphological changes in the X-ray aurora that do not appear to be correlated with either variations in the IPT or Solar wind.

Kraft, Ralph↗
NASA NTRS2015

Electrostatic Discharge Testing of Carbon Composite Solar Array Panels for Use in the Jovian Environment

NASA is currently considering a mission to investigate the moons of Jupiter. When designing a spacecraft for this type of mission, there are a number of engineering challenges, especially if the mission chooses to utilize solar arrays to provide the spacecraft power. In order for solar arrays to be feasible for the mission, their total mass needed to fit within the total budget for the mission, which strongly suggested the use of carbon composite facesheets on an aluminum core for the panel structure. While these composite structures are a good functional substitution for the metallic materials they replace, they present unique challenges when interacting with the harsh Jovian space environment. As a composite material, they are composed of more than one material and can show different base properties depending in differing conditions. Looking at the electrical properties, in an Earth-based environment the carbon component of the composite dominates the response of the material to external stimulus. Under these conditions, the structures strongly resembles a conductor. In the Jovian environment, with temperatures reaching 50K and under the bombardment from energetic electrons, the non-conducting pre-preg binding materials may come to the forefront and change the perceived response. Before selecting solar arrays as the baseline power source for a mission to Jupiter, the response of the carbon composites to energetic electrons while held at cryogenic temperatures needed to be determined. A series of tests were devised to exam the response of a sample solar array panel composed of an M55J carbon weave layup with an RS-3 pre-preg binder. Test coupons were fabricated and exposed to electrons ranging from 10 keV to 100 keV, at 1 nA/cm2, while being held at cryogenic temperatures. While under electron bombardment, electrical discharges were observed and recorded with the majority of discharges occurring with electron energies of 25 keV. A decrease in temperature to liquid nitrogen temperatures showed a marked increase in the magnitude of these discharges. The results indicate that dielectric discharges are primarily produced due to the presence of large regions of the non-conductive pre-preg on the surface of the carbon sheets. The frequency and magnitude of discharges decreased when layers of the pre-preg material were removed from the composite surface. These tests indicate that solar array panels may be used in the Jovian environment, but that electrostatic discharges can be expected on the carbon composite solar arrays.

Jupiter↗