A comparison of the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn: deep atmospheric composition, cloud structure, vertical mixing, and origin

Atreya, S. K.; Wong, Michael H.; Owen, Tobias; Mahaffy, P. R.; Niemann, H. B.; Pater, Imke de; Drossart, P.; Encrenaz, Th.

doi:10.1016/s0032-0633(99)00047-1

Cited by 257 publications

(227 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Important for Saturn's meteorology H 2 S NH 4 SH Key for planetesimal delivery, with possibility that the abundance is linked to that of rocks deep inside. Important for Saturn's meteorology H 2 O (by radiometry); Key to understand the planet's structure, formation, and meteorology Ar, Kr, Xe Key to decide between models of planetesimal delivery and planet formation.…”

Section: Shmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Important for Saturn's meteorology H 2 O (by radiometry); Key to understand the planet's structure, formation, and meteorology Ar, Kr, Xe Key to decide between models of planetesimal delivery and planet formation. Link with the compositions of the Sun and protosolar disk CO, PH 3 , AsH 3 , GeH 4 Disequilibrium species are important to understand convection in Saturn's deep atmosphere. Help to further test planetesimal delivery models D/H Test models that predict it should be similar to Jupiter and to the protosolar value 12 C/ 13 C Test models that predict value similar to Earth 14 N/ 15 N Important to understand whether N was delivered as N 2 or as NH 3 .…”

Section: Shmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The masses of the central cores of Jupiter (0 to 15 M È where M È is the mass of the Earth) and of Saturn (8 to 26 M È ), as well as the total masses of heavy elements (10 to 40 M È , and 20 to 30 M È , respectively) are poorly constrained [3]. Along the same lines, the abundance of oxygen, the third most abundant element in the Universe after H and He and a key element for planetary formation, is unknown in the well-mixed atmospheres of both Jupiter and Saturn [4]. Jupiter's composition was measured in situ by the Galileo probe in 1995 down to a pressure level of 22 Bar [5].…”

Section: Shmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The properties of the [4,16,17] clouds and their temporal changes have been studied most recently by [35] and [36]. Related features are also seen at other levels from observations and retrievals of temperature and composition at infrared wavelengths [27].…”

Section: Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, the elemental and isotopic determinations of Saturn's atmospheric composition would permit to explore sources of matter and processes of formation for the giant planets. 4 Fine determination crucial to understand the formation of the planet NH 3 NH 4 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Kronos: exploring the depths of Saturn with probes and remote sensing through an international mission

et al. 2008

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Kronos is a mission aimed to measure in situ the chemical and isotopic compositions of the Saturnian atmosphere with two probes and also by remote sensing, in order to understand the origin, formation, and evolution of giant planets in general, including extrasolar planets. Xe/ 129 Xe isotopic ratios will be measured by mass spectrometry on two probes entering the atmosphere of Saturn at two different locations near mid-latitudes, down to a pressure of 10 Bar. The global composition of Saturn will be investigated through these measurements, together with microwave radiometry determination of H 2 O and NH 3 and their 3D variations. The dynamics of Saturn's atmosphere will be investigated from: (1) measurements of pressure, temperature, vertical distribution of clouds and wind speed along the probes' descent trajectories, and (2) determination of deep winds, differential rotation and convection with combined probe, gravity and radiometric measurements. Besides these primary goals, Kronos will also measure the intensities and characteristics of Saturn's magnetic field inside the D ring as well as Saturn's gravitational field, in order to constrain the abundance of heavy elements in Saturn's interior and in its central core. Depending on the preferred architecture (flyby versus orbiter), Kronos will be in a position to measure the properties of Saturn's innermost magnetosphere and to investigate the ring structure in order to understand how these tiny structures could have formed and survived up to the present times.

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Section: Shmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Shmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Shmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Kronos: exploring the depths of Saturn with probes and remote sensing through an international mission

et al. 2008

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The first close‐up images of Jupiter's polar regions: Results from the Juno mission JunoCam instrument

Orton

Hansen

Caplinger

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

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During Juno's first perijove encounter, the JunoCam instrument acquired the first images of Jupiter's polar regions at 50–70 km spatial scale at low emission angles. Poleward of 64–68° planetocentric latitude, where Jupiter's east‐west banded structure breaks down, several types of discrete features appear on a darker background. Cyclonic oval features are clustered near both poles. Other oval‐shaped features are also present, ranging in size from 2000 km down to JunoCam's resolution limits. The largest and brightest features often have chaotic shapes. Two narrow linear features in the north, associated with an overlying haze feature, traverse tens of degrees of longitude. JunoCam also detected an optically thin cloud or haze layer past the northern nightside terminator estimated to be 58 ± 21 km (approximately three scale heights) above the main cloud deck. JunoCam will acquire polar images on every perijove, allowing us to track the state and evolution of longer‐lived features.

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Preliminary results on the composition of Jupiter's troposphere in hot spot regions from the JIRAM/Juno instrument

Grassi

Adriani

Mura

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

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The Jupiter InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument on board the Juno spacecraft performed observations of two bright Jupiter hot spots around the time of the first Juno pericenter passage on 27 August 2016. The spectra acquired in the 4–5 µm spectral range were analyzed to infer the residual opacities of the uppermost cloud deck as well as the mean mixing ratios of water, ammonia, and phosphine at the approximate level of few bars. Our results support the current view of hot spots as regions of prevailing descending vertical motions in the atmosphere but extend this view suggesting that upwelling may occur at the southern boundaries of these structures. Comparison with the global ammonia abundance measured by Juno Microwave Radiometer suggests also that hot spots may represent sites of local enrichment of this gas. JIRAM also identifies similar spatial patterns in water and phosphine contents in the two hot spots.

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A comparison of the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn: deep atmospheric composition, cloud structure, vertical mixing, and origin

Cited by 257 publications

References 81 publications

Kronos: exploring the depths of Saturn with probes and remote sensing through an international mission

Kronos: exploring the depths of Saturn with probes and remote sensing through an international mission

The first close‐up images of Jupiter's polar regions: Results from the Juno mission JunoCam instrument

Preliminary results on the composition of Jupiter's troposphere in hot spot regions from the JIRAM/Juno instrument

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