Enhanced C 2 H 2 Absorption Within Jupiter's Southern Auroral Oval From Juno UVS Observations

Abstract Reflected sunlight observations from the Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) on the Juno spacecraft were used to study the distribution of acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) at Jupiter's south pole. We find that the shape of the C 2 H 2 absorption feature varies significantly across the polar region, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of geophysical research. Planets 2023-02, Vol.128 (2)
Main Authors: Giles, Rohini S., Hue, Vincent, Greathouse, Thomas K., Gladstone, G. Randall, Kammer, Joshua A., Versteeg, Maarten H., Bonfond, Bertrand, Grodent, Denis C., Gérard, Jean‐Claude, Sinclair, James A., Bolton, Scott J., Levin, Steven M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astrophysics
Physics
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Summary:Abstract Reflected sunlight observations from the Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) on the Juno spacecraft were used to study the distribution of acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) at Jupiter's south pole. We find that the shape of the C 2 H 2 absorption feature varies significantly across the polar region, and this can be used to infer spatial variability in the C 2 H 2 abundance. There is a localized region of enhanced C 2 H 2 absorption which coincides with the location of Jupiter's southern polar aurora; the C 2 H 2 abundance poleward of the auroral oval is a factor of 3 higher than adjacent quiescent, non‐auroral longitudes. This builds on previous infrared studies, which found enhanced C 2 H 2 abundances within the northern auroral oval. This suggests that Jupiter's upper‐atmosphere chemistry is being strongly influenced by the influx of charged auroral particles and demonstrates the necessity of developing ion‐neutral photochemical models of Jupiter's polar regions. Plain Language Summary The Ultraviolet Spectrograph on the Juno mission to Jupiter measures ultraviolet sunlight that is reflected from the planet's upper atmosphere and these observations can be used to measure the abundances of different gases in the stratosphere. In this paper, we study the spatial distribution of the molecule acetylene at Jupiter's south pole. We find that there is a significant increase in the acetylene abundance at the location of Jupiter's southern aurora. This suggests that the charged particles that travel along magnetic field lines toward Jupiter's poles and produce bright auroral emission also have a strong influence on the chemistry of Jupiter's upper atmosphere. Key Points Ultraviolet reflected sunlight observations from Juno Ultraviolet Spectrograph were used to study the distribution of C 2 H 2 at Jupiter's south pole From the changes in the spectral shape, we infer enhanced C 2 H 2 absorption within the southern auroral oval Jupiter's atmospheric chemistry at the poles is strongly influenced by the influx of charged auroral particles
ISSN:2169-9097
2169-9100
DOI:10.1029/2022JE007610