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  • Title: Imaging Jupiter's aurorae from H3+ emissions in the 3-4 micrometers band.
    Author: Baron R, Joseph RD, Owen T, Tennyson J, Miller S, Ballester GE.
    Journal: Nature; 1991 Oct 10; 353():539-42. PubMed ID: 11538254.
    Abstract:
    Since H3+ was first spectroscopically detected on Jupiter, there has been considerable interest in using this simple molecular ion to probe conditions existing in the planet's auroral regions. Here we present a series of images of Jupiter recorded at wavelengths sensitive to emission by H3+, which reveal the spatial distribution of excited H3+ molecular ions in the jovian ionosphere, as seen from Earth. We believe that they provide high-spatial-resolution images of polar aurorae on Jupiter. They suggest that the intensity of the auroral emission can vary on a timescale of an hour, a shorter period than had previously been noted. We also find that the spatial distribution of H3+ emissions correlates only partially with the loci of auroral activity inferred from ultraviolet and longer-wavelength infrared observations. The H3+ emission may therefore be controlled by auroral processes that are different from those responsible for the ultraviolet and infrared emissions.
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