Imaging Jupiter's aurorae from H3+ emissions in the 3-4 micrometers band.
Since H3+ was first spectroscopically detected on Jupiter, there has been considerable interest in using this simple molecular ion to probe conditions existing in the planet's auroral regions.  Here we present a series of images of Jupiter recorded at wavelengths sensitive to emission by H3+, which reveal the spatial distribution of excited H3+ molecular ions in the jovian ionosphere, as seen from Earth.  We believe that they provide high-spatial-resolution images of polar aurorae on Jupiter.  They suggest that the intensity of the auroral emission can vary on a timescale of an hour, a shorter period than had previously been noted. We also find that the spatial distribution of H3+ emissions correlates only partially with the loci of auroral activity inferred from ultraviolet and longer-wavelength infrared observations.  The H3+ emission may therefore be controlled by auroral processes that are different from those responsible for the ultraviolet and infrared emissions.
Baron
R
R
Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu 96822, USA.
Joseph
R D
RD
Owen
T
T
Tennyson
J
J
Miller
S
S
Ballester
G E
GE
D055580:Astronomical Phenomena; D001256:Astronomy; D001272:Atmosphere; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D018538:Jupiter; D011522:Protons; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D014316:Tritium
D006838:Hydrocarbons; D011522:Protons; D014316:Tritium