Article Dans Une Revue Nature Astronomy Année : 2024

Ionospheric irregularities at Jupiter observed by JWST

Henrik Melin
L. Moore
T S Stallard
M T Roman
J. Harkett
E M Thomas
R. Wang
P I Tiranti
K L Knowles
I. de Pater
T. Fouchet
P H Fry
M H Wong
M K James
E. Lellouch
K. de Kleer
M R Showalter

Résumé

Abstract Jupiter’s upper atmosphere is composed of a neutral thermosphere and charged ionosphere. In the latter, the dominant molecular ion H 3 + emits in the near-infrared, allowing for the remote exploration of the physical properties of the upper atmosphere. However, the Jovian low-latitude ionosphere remains largely unexplored because H 3 + emissions from this region are faint and spectrally entangled with bright neutral species, such as CH 4 . Here, we present James Webb Space Telescope H 3 + observations of Jupiter’s low-latitude ionosphere in the region of the Great Red Spot, showing unexpected small-scale intensity features such as arcs, bands and spots. Our observations may imply that the low-latitude ionosphere of Jupiter is strongly coupled to the lower atmosphere via gravity waves that superimpose to produce this complex and intricate morphology.
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hal-04882090 , version 1 (13-01-2025)

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Henrik Melin, J. O’donoghue, L. Moore, T S Stallard, L N Fletcher, et al.. Ionospheric irregularities at Jupiter observed by JWST. Nature Astronomy, 2024, 8 (8), pp.1000-1007. ⟨10.1038/s41550-024-02305-9⟩. ⟨hal-04882090⟩
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