Mesospheric optical signatures of possible lightning on Venus

Pérez‐Invernón, Francisco J.; Luque, Alejandro; Gordillo‐Vázquez, F. J.

doi:10.1002/2016ja022886

Cited by 10 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 71 publications

(126 reference statements)

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“…The possibility, however, of it being due to upper atmosphere luminosity from electrical discharge (i.e., sprites, elves, etc.-phenomena which only became well-known in the 1990s, after this observation and analysis were completed) might bear reexamination. Indeed, Pérez-Invernón et al (2016) present models of posssible mesospheric optical signatures of lightning (i.e., transient luminous events (TLEs, such as sprites and elves) but curiously do not cite the Huestis and Slanger work. They note that in addition to the green and red oxygen lines, nitrogen emission would occur in the UV and near-IR.…”

Section: Pioneer Venus Ultraviolet Spectrometermentioning

confidence: 99%

Lightning detection on Venus: a critical review

Lorenz

2018

Prog Earth Planet Sci

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Claimed detections and nondetections of lightning and related electromagnetic emissions on Venus are qualitatively contradictory. Here, motivated by the commencement of observations by the Akatsuki spacecraft and by studies of future missions, we critically review spacecraft and ground-based observations of the past 40 years, in an attempt to reconcile the discordant reports with a minimal number of assumptions. These include invoking alternative interpretations of individual reports, guided by sensitivity thresholds, controls, and other objective benchmarks of observation integrity. The most compelling evidence is in fact the first, the very low frequency (VLF) radio emissions recorded beneath the clouds by all four of the Veneras 11-13 landers, and those data are re-examined closely, finding power-law amplitude characteristics and substantial differences between the different profiles. It is concluded that some kind of frequent electrical activity is supported by the preponderance of observations, but optical emissions are not consistent with terrestrial levels of activity. Venus' activity may, like Earth's, have strong temporal and/or spatial variability, which coupled with the relatively short accumulated observation time for optical measurements, can lead to qualitative discrepancies between observation reports. We note a number of previously unconsidered observations and outline some considerations for future observations.

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Section: Pioneer Venus Ultraviolet Spectrometermentioning

confidence: 99%

Lightning detection on Venus: a critical review

Lorenz

2018

Prog Earth Planet Sci

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“…Regarding the coupling between the field and the kinetics of the chemical species considered, the present model uses the Langevin's equation for the electron current coupled with a first‐order Euler solver for the continuity equations. However, in Pérez‐Invernón et al [] we used an advection‐diffusion equation for electron transport coupled with a Runge‐Kutta method of order 5 to calculate each species density. As in Pérez‐Invernón et al [], we investigate electric breakdown for discharges with total energy released above 10 10 J.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in Pérez‐Invernón et al [] we used an advection‐diffusion equation for electron transport coupled with a Runge‐Kutta method of order 5 to calculate each species density. As in Pérez‐Invernón et al [], we investigate electric breakdown for discharges with total energy released above 10 10 J.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As in Pérez‐Invernón et al [], we assume that an IC lightning discharge follows a biexponential function of the form

I (t) = I_{0} ((), \exp (- t / τ_{1}) - \exp (- t / τ_{2})),

where τ 2 =0.1 ms is the rise time of the current wave, and τ 1 =1 ms is the total duration of the stroke. We calculate the value of the parameter I 0 from the total energy released by the stroke, considering five possible scenarios for the total energy released in Venus IC lightning, two of them with typical terrestrial energies of 10 6 J and 10 7 J [ Maggio et al , ], the other two with energies of 10 10 and 2 × 10 10 J [ Krasnopolsky , ], and 10 11 J as an extreme case.…”

Section: Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some previous works investigated the effect of quasi‐electrostatic fields in the atmopsheres of Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn [ Dubrovin et al , , ; Pérez‐Invernón et al , ], estimating optical emissions produced in the upper atmospheres of these planets. However, no previous works have investigated the effect of hypothetical lightning‐emitted electromagnetic pulses (EMP) on the Venus atmosphere.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Three‐dimensional modeling of lightning‐induced electromagnetic pulses on Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn

2017

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While lightning activity in Venus is still controversial, its existence in Jupiter and Saturn was first detected by the Voyager missions and later on confirmed by Cassini and New Horizons optical recordings in the case of Jupiter, and recently by Cassini on Saturn in 2009. Based on a recently developed 3‐D model, we investigate the influence of lightning‐emitted electromagnetic pulses on the upper atmosphere of Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter. We explore how different lightning properties such as total energy released and orientation (vertical, horizontal, and oblique) can produce mesospheric transient optical emissions of different shapes, sizes, and intensities. Moreover, we show that the relatively strong background magnetic field of Saturn can enhance the lightning‐induced quasi‐electrostatic and inductive electric field components above 1000 km of altitude producing stronger transient optical emissions that could be detected from orbital probes.

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Whistler Wave Propagation Through the Ionosphere of Venus

et al. 2017

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We investigate the attenuation of whistler waves generated by hypotetical Venusian lightning occurring at the altitude of the cloud layer under different ionospheric conditions. We use the Stanford full‐wave method for stratified media of Lehtinen and Inan (2008) to model wave propagation through the ionosphere of Venus. This method calculates the electromagnetic field created by an arbitrary source in a plane‐stratified medium (i.e., uniform in the horizontal direction). We see that the existence of holes in electronic densities and the magnetic field configuration caused by solar wind play an important role in the propagation of electromagnetic waves through the Venusian ionosphere.

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Mesospheric optical signatures of possible lightning on Venus

Cited by 10 publications

References 71 publications

Lightning detection on Venus: a critical review

Lightning detection on Venus: a critical review

Three‐dimensional modeling of lightning‐induced electromagnetic pulses on Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn

Whistler Wave Propagation Through the Ionosphere of Venus

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