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A numerical modeling of the electromagnetic characteristics of Titan's atmosphere is carried out by means of the TLM numerical method, with the aim of calculating the Schumann resonant frequencies of Saturn's satellite. The detection and measurement of these resonances by the Huygens probe, which will enter Titan's atmosphere at the beginning of 2005, is expected to show the existence of electric...
We carried out a brief campaign in September 1998 to determine Jupiter's radio spectrum at frequencies spanning a range from 74 MHz up to 8 GHz. Eleven different telescopes were used in this effort, each uniquely suited to observe at a particular frequency. We find that Jupiter's spectrum is basically flat shortwards of 1-2 GHz, and drops off steeply at frequencies greater than 2 GHz. We compared...
We observed Jupiter's synchrotron radiation at frequencies of 15 and 22 GHz using the VLA (Very Large Array) in its most compact configuration (D-array) in March 1991. The spatial brightness distribution of the emission at these high frequencies appears to be very similar to that seen at lower frequencies (5 GHz down to 330 MHz). We measured a total nonthermal flux density at 15 and 22 GHz of 1.5...
We present the first images and measurement of flux density of Jupiter at a frequency of 74 MHz, obtained with the Very Large Array in September 1998. We observed simultaneously at frequencies of 74 and 330 MHz. We compare our data with observations taken during the same time at other frequencies (presented by de Pater and 13 others, 2003, Icarus 163, 434-448) and show that the spectrum of Jupiter...
We present a summary of Jupiter data taken over an eighteen year span (1981-1998) by the Very Large Array at ~21.0 cm. At this wavelength the emission is dominated by synchrotron radiation, which is roughly proportional to the product of the electron number density and magnetic field strength (N e B). At each epoch 8-12 hours of data were taken, which allowed us to examine Jupiter during an...
Recently, a model for the centimeter-wavelength opacity of PH 3 under conditions characteristic of the outer planets was developed by Hoffman et al. (2001, PhD thesis), based on centimeter wavelength laboratory measurements. New laboratory measurements have been conducted which show that this model is also accurate at low pressures and temperatures, and at millimeter wavelengths such as will...
Radio spectroscopic observations of Comet 19P/Borrelly were performed during the 1994 apparition and at, and near, the time of the Deep Space 1 flyby in 2001. HCN, CS, CH 3 OH, and H 2 CO were detected using the 30-m telescope of the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, and their production rates relative to water are estimated to be 0.06-0...
Large-aperture radars detect the high-density plasma that forms in the vicinity of a meteoroid and moves approximately at its velocity; reflections from these plasmas are called head echoes. To determine the head plasma density and configuration, we model the interaction of a radar wave with the plasma without using assumptions about plasma density. This paper presents a scattering method that enables...
We present a new Very Large Array (VLA) image of Saturn, made from data taken in October 1998 at a wavelength of λ3.6 cm. The moderate ring opening angle (B~15 o ) allows us to explore direct transmission of microwave photons through the A and C rings. We find a strong asymmetry of photons transmitted through the A ring, but not in the C ring, a new diagnostic of wake structure in the ring...
The availability of new accurate radio flux densities of Jupiter in and around the λ≃1.3 cm ammonia absorption band, one from ground-based radio data and five from the WMAP satellite, permits re-examination of the structure of the jovian upper troposphere. These flux densities, with accuracies of 1–3%, indicate that the jovian atmospheric ammonia is globally subsaturated within and above the ammonia...
Despite several spacecraft encounters and numerous groundbased investigations, we still do not know much about Jupiter's deep atmosphere; in fact, the Galileo probe results were so different than anyone had anticipated, that we understand even less about this planet's atmosphere now than before the Galileo mission. We formulate four basic questions in Section 1.3, which, if solved, would help to better...
Microwave remote sounding from a spacecraft flying by or in orbit around Jupiter offers new possibilities for retrieving important and presently poorly understood properties of its atmosphere. In particular, we show that precise measurements of relative brightness temperature as a function of off-nadir emission angles, combined with absolute brightness temperature measurements, can allow us to determine...
Groundbased radio observations indicate that Jupiter's ammonia is globally depleted from 0.6 bars to at least 4–6 bars relative to the deep abundance of ∼3 times solar, a fact that has so far defied explanation. The observations also indicate that (i) the depletion is greater in belts than zones, and (ii) the greatest depletion occurs within Jupiter's local 5-μm hot spots, which have recently been...
The dramatic growth and evolution of the 2001 martian global dust storm were captured using the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS). While the lower and middle atmosphere (pressures greater than 50 μbar, up to ∼45 km altitude) showed rapid heating of up to 40 K, the average surface brightness temperature plummeted by ∼20 K at the peak of the storm. The storm appears to have had little impact...
We report on observations of the full Moon brightness temperature covering the frequency range of 300–950 GHz, and also on observations of the lunar eclipse of July 16, 2000, though only covering the frequency range of 165–365 GHz due to poor atmospheric transmission at higher frequencies. All observations were performed from the summit of Mauna Kea (HI) using a Fourier Transform Spectrometer mounted...
We present a self-consistent, 36-year record of the disk-averaged radio brightness of Uranus at wavelengths near 3.5 cm. It covers nearly half a uranian year, and includes both equatorial and polar viewing geometries (corresponding to equinox and solstice, respectively). We find large (greater than 30 K) changes over this time span. In agreement with analyses made of more limited microwave data sets,...
On 4 July 2005 at 5:52 UT the Deep Impact mission successfully completed its goal to hit the nucleus of 9P/Tempel 1 with an impactor, forming a crater on the nucleus and ejecting material into the coma of the comet. NASA's Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) observed the 110–101 ortho-water ground-state rotational transition in Comet 9P/Tempel 1 before, during, and after the impact. No excess...
We describe an assimilation of thermal profiles below about 40 km altitude and total dust opacities into a general circulation model (GCM) of the martian atmosphere. The data were provided by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft. The results of the assimilation are verified against an independent source of contemporaneous data represented by radio...
High-power, large-aperture (HPLA) radars detect the plasma that forms in the vicinity of a meteoroid and moves approximately at its velocity; reflections from these plasmas are called head echoes. For over a decade, HPLA radars have been detecting head echoes with peak velocity distributions >50 km/s. These results have created some controversy within the field of meteor physics because previous...
We observed 18-cm OH emission in Comet 9P/Tempel 1 before and after Deep Impact. Observations using the Arecibo Observatory 305 m telescope took place between 8 April and 9 June, 2005, followed by post-impact observations using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory 100 m Green Bank Telescope 4–12 July, 2005. The resulting spectra were analyzed with a kinematic Monte Carlo model which allows estimation...
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