Evidence for supersonic turbulence in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter

Claude Emerich, Lotfi Ben Jaffel, John T. Clarke, Renée Prangé, G. Randall Gladstone, Joel Sommeria, Gilda Ballester

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

Spectra of the hydrogen Lyman α(Ly-α) emission line profiles of the jovian dayglow, obtained by the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph on the Hubbie Space Telescope, appear complex and variable on time scales of a few minutes. Dramatic changes occur in the Ly-α bulge region at low latitudes, where the line profiles exhibit structures that correspond to supersonic velocities of the order of several to tens of kilometers per second. This behavior, unexpected in a planetary atmosphere, is evidence for the particularly stormy jovian upper atmosphere, not unlike a star's atmosphere.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1085-1087
Number of pages3
JournalScience
Volume273
Issue number5278
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 23 1996
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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