Journal
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
Volume 589, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
EDP SCIENCES S A
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201628170
Keywords
planets and satellites: gaseous planets; planets and satellites: aurorae; planets and satellites: atmospheres
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Funding
- Science and Technology Facilities Council [ST/K001000/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- STFC [ST/N00082X/1, ST/K00106X/1, ST/I001948/1, ST/K001000/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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We use high-resolution ground-based observations from the VLT CRIRES instrument in November 2012 to identify sixteen previously undetected H-3(+) emission lines from Jupiter's ionosphere. These emission lines are located in Jupiter's 5-micron window (4.5-5.2 mu m), an optically-thin region of the planet's spectrum where the radiation mostly originates from the deep troposphere. The H-3(+) emission lines are so strong that they are visible even against this bright background. We measure the Doppler broadening of the H-3(+) emission lines in order to evaluate the kinetic temperature of the molecules, and we obtain a value of 1390 +/- 160 K. We also measure the relative intensities of lines in the nu(2) fundamental in order to calculate the rotational temperature, obtaining a value of 960 +/- 40 K. Finally, we use the detection of an emission line from the 2 nu(2)(2)-nu(2) overtone to measure a vibrational temperature of 925 +/- 25 K. We use these three independent temperature estimates to discuss the thermodynamic equilibrium of Jupiter's ionosphere.
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