Lightning on Neptune

Gibbard, S. G.; Levy, E. H.; Lunine, Jonathan I.; Pater, Imke de

doi:10.1006/icar.1999.6101

Cited by 22 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…As on Uranus, the haze is composed of photochemically formed complex hydrocarbons, with higher order alkanes like propane (C 3 H 8 ) and butane (C 4 H 10 ) (Moses et al, 1992). A search for lightning by Voyager 2 revealed four possible radio emissions, and sixteen whistler events detected by two different instruments (Gibbard et al, 1999). This is more evidence for Neptunian lightning than was detected for Uranus; however, lightning could not be detected optically.…”

Section: Neptunementioning

confidence: 94%

Atmospheric Electrification in the Solar System

Aplin

2006

Surv Geophys

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Atmospheric electrification is not a purely terrestrial phenomenon: all Solar System planetary atmospheres become slightly electrified by cosmic ray ionisation. There is evidence for lightning on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and it is possible on Mars, Venus and Titan. Controversy surrounds the role of atmospheric electricity in physical climate processes on Earth; here, a comparative approach is employed to review the role of electrification in the atmospheres of other planets and their moons. This paper reviews the theory, and, where available, measurements, of planetary atmospheric electricity which is taken to include ion production and ion-aerosol interactions. The conditions necessary for a planetary atmospheric electric circuit similar to Earth's, and the likelihood of meeting these conditions in other planetary atmospheres, are briefly discussed. Atmospheric electrification could be important throughout the solar system, particularly at the outer planets which receive little solar radiation, increasing the relative significance of electrical forces. Nucleation onto atmospheric ions has been predicted to affect the evolution and lifetime of haze layers on Titan, Neptune and Triton. Atmospheric electrical processes on Titan, before the arrival of the Huygens probe, are summarised. For planets closer to Earth, heating from solar radiation dominates atmospheric circulations. However, Mars may have a global circuit analogous to the terrestrial model, but based on electrical discharges from dust storms. There is an increasing need for direct measurements of planetary atmospheric electrification, in particular on Mars, to assess the risk for future unmanned and manned missions. Theoretical understanding could be increased by cross-disciplinary work to modify and update models and parameterisations initially developed for a specific atmosphere, to make them more broadly applicable to other planetary atmospheres.

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Section: Neptunementioning

confidence: 94%

Atmospheric Electrification in the Solar System

Aplin

2006

Surv Geophys

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“…The strength and variability of the radar backscatter cross sections measured at 3.5-cm wavelength (1) indicated that Titan's surface is not homogeneous and cast doubt on models for Titan's atmosphere and surface that suggested the presence of a deep hydrocarbon ocean (2). Observations in the near infrared (IR) with the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes using speckle imaging and adaptive optics techniques (3,4,5) have provided coarse surface maps of Titan. Especially notable is a bright, high-albedo region centered near 110°longitude and extending over ϳ90°in longitude.…”

Section: Radar Evidence For Liquid Surfaces On Titanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The specular law used was Hagfors' formulation, 0 () ϭ 0 C/2 (1). They cover an area of 4200 and 13,000 km 2 (2, 3), respectively; receive abundant precipitation (2 to 11 m of water equivalent per year), with a large east-west gradient; and discharge ice and meltwater to the ocean on the west side and to lakes on the east side via rapidly flowing glaciers (4 ). Few reliable mass balance data on the region exist, leaving considerable uncertainty in the estimation of its contribution to sea level rise (SLR) (5Ϫ9).…”

Section: Radar Evidence For Liquid Surfaces On Titanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radar Evidence for Liquid Surfaces on Titan

Campbell

Black

Carter

et al. 2003

Science

121

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Arecibo radar observations of Titan at 13-centimeter wavelength indicate that most of the echo power is in a diffusely scattered component but that a small specular component is present for about 75% of the subearth locations observed. These specular echoes have properties consistent with those expected for areas of liquid hydrocarbons. Knowledge of the areal extent and depth of any deposits of liquid hydrocarbons could strongly constrain the history of Titan's atmosphere and surface.

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“…They are especially active on Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn and are likely also occurring on Uranus and Neptune (Borucki et al, 1982a(Borucki et al, , 1996Dyudina et al, 2002Dyudina et al, , 2007Dyudina et al, , 2010Fischer et al, 2006;Desch et al, 2002, Baines et al, 2006Yair, 2008, Gibbard et al, 1999. On Venus, lightning has been inferred from observations by Venus Express and by earlier spacecraft such as Pioneer Venus and the Russian Venera missions (Krasnopolsky, 1983, Russell et al, 2006, 2008.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%