Abstract: The properties of the upper atmosphere of Jupiter have been theoretically investigated. The vertical temperature profile in the atmosphere above the clouds and the structure of the ionosphere have been computed for two different model atmospheres: Model I corresponds to a H/He mixing ratio of 20:1 by volume (Urey, 1959), and Model II has a H/He ratio as low as 0.03:1 (O¨pik, 1962). Assuming that the atmosphere of Jupiter above the clouds is in radiative equilibrium, the temperature distribution in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter has been computed. With a cloudtop temperature of 153° K and the total optical thickness of the atmosphere in the far infrared of 0.66, the radiation emitted by the planet is 3.1 × 104 ergs cm−3 sec−1. This value of radiation flux is about four times higher than the solar flux received by Jupiter. The equilibrium distribution of electron densities in the ionosphere of Jupiter has also been calculated. The maximum electron densities of ∼106 electrons/cc are found to occur at the altitudes of 220 km and 110 km above the cloudtop for the two model atmospheres.
Publication Year: 1964
Publication Date: 1964-11-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 56
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