Journal ArticleDOI
Io on the eve of the galileo mission
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Io, the innermost of Jupiter's large moons, is one of the most unusual objects in the Solar System as discussed by the authors, which produces a global heat flux 40 times the terrestrial value, producing intense volcanic activity and a global resurfacing rate averaging perhaps 1 cm yr−1.Abstract:
▪ Abstract Io, innermost of Jupiter's large moons, is one of the most unusual objects in the Solar System. Tidal heating of the interior produces a global heat flux 40 times the terrestrial value, producing intense volcanic activity and a global resurfacing rate averaging perhaps 1 cm yr−1. The volcanoes may erupt mostly silicate lavas, but the uppermost surface is dominated by sulfur compounds including SO2 frost. The volcanoes and frost support a thin, patchy SO2 atmosphere with peak pressure near 10−8 bars. Self-sustaining bombardment of the surface and atmosphere by Io-derived plasma trapped in Jupiter's magnetosphere causes escape of material from Io (predominantly sulfur, oxygen, and sodium atoms, ions, and molecules) at a rate of about 103 kg s−1. The resulting Jupiter-encircling torus of ionized sulfur and oxygen dominates the Jovian magnetosphere and, together with an extended cloud of neutral sodium, is readily observable from Earth.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Vegetation's red edge: a possible spectroscopic biosignature of extraterrestrial plants.
TL;DR: This work presents Earthshine observations from Apache Point Observatory to emphasize that time variability is key to detecting weak surface biosignatures such as the vegetation red edge, and implies that future terrestrial-planet-characterizing space missions should obtain data that allow time-varying, sharp spectral features at unknown wavelengths to be identified.
Journal ArticleDOI
The sub-Alfvénic interaction of the Galilean satellites with the Jovian magnetosphere
TL;DR: In this article, it was shown that the sub-Alfvenic, low-beta interaction can be described by an anisotropic conducting atmosphere joined to an Alfven wing as one extreme case and the Jovian ionosphere as the other extreme case.
Journal ArticleDOI
Active Volcanism on Io as Seen by Galileo SSI
Alfred S. McEwen,Laszlo P. Keszthelyi,Paul Geissler,Damon P. Simonelli,Michael H. Carr,Torrence V. Johnson,Kenneth P. Klaasen,H. Herbert Breneman,Todd J. Jones,James M. Kaufman,K. Magee,David A. Senske,M. J. S. Belton,Gerald Schubert +13 more
TL;DR: Io has been monitored during the nominal Galileo satellite tour from mid 1996 through late 1997 by the Solid State Imaging (SSI) experiment, which was able to observe many manifestations of active volcanism, including changes in the color and albedo of the surface, active airborne plumes, and glowing vents seen in eclipse as discussed by the authors.
BookDOI
Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets
TL;DR: The Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets (CCP) as discussed by the authors is a collection of more than sixty leading experts in the field that sets forth the foundations for this emerging new science and brings the reader to the forefront of our current understanding of atmospheric formation and climate evolution.
Journal ArticleDOI
Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Spectral Mapping of Jupiter and the Galilean Satellites: Results from Galileo's Initial Orbit
Robert W. Carlson,William D. Smythe,Kevin H. Baines,E. Barbinis,Kris J. Becker,R. Burns,S. B. Calcutt,Wendy M. Calvin,Roger N. Clark,G. E. Danielson,A. G. Davies,Pierre Drossart,T. Encrenaz,Fraser P. Fanale,J. Granahan,Gary B. Hansen,P. Herrera,Charles A. Hibbitts,J. Hui,Patrick G. J. Irwin,Torrence V. Johnson,L. W. Kamp,Hugh H. Kieffer,F. Leader,Emmanuel Lellouch,R. Lopes-Gautier,Dennis L. Matson,Thomas B. McCord,R. Mehlman,Adriana C. Ocampo,Glenn S. Orton,M. Roos-Serote,M. Segura,James H. Shirley,L. A. Soderblom,A. Stevenson,Fredric W. Taylor,J. Torson,Alex A. S. Weir,Paul R. Weissman +39 more
TL;DR: Spectra for a 5-micrometer hot spot on Jupiter are consistent with the absence of a significant water cloud above 8 bars and with a depletion of water compared to that predicted for solar composition, corroborating results from the Galileo probe.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Variability of [O I] 6300-Å emission near Io
Frank Scherb,W. H. Smyth +1 more
TL;DR: The (O I) 6300-A emission near Io has been observed in 1990, 1991 and 1992 by the National Solar Observatory staff using the solar-stellar spectrography on the McMath-Pierce telescope at Kitt Peak as mentioned in this paper.
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Io Hot Spots in 1991: Results from Europa Occultation Photometry and Infrared Imaging
TL;DR: In this article, the authors obtained infrared photometry of four of these events at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope at wavelengths of 5.0 or 3.4 μm, in order to investigate the nature and distribution of volcanism on Io by observing the occultation of the volcanic hot spots by the limb of Europa.
Journal ArticleDOI
Io's 5 micron variability
TL;DR: An outburst of Io, similar to that observed by Witteborn, Bregman, and Pollack, has been observed with M filter-band photometry as discussed by the authors, where the flux was about 3 times its normal value and decayed approximately linearly with time by 23% in the first hour of observing.
Journal ArticleDOI
Plasma motions in planetary magnetospheres.
T. W. Hill,A. J. Dessler +1 more
TL;DR: Comparative study of planetary magnetospheres aims to elucidate both the general principles and characteristics that they share in common, and the specific environmental factors that cause the important, and sometimes dramatic, differences in behavior between any two of them.