Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T17:08:52.382Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Planetary ionospheres – sources and dynamic drivers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2008

Joseph M. Grebowsky
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA email: [email protected]
Arthur C. Aikin
Affiliation:
Institute for Astrophysics and Computational Sciences, Department of Physics, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA email: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

External energy inputs into all planetary upper atmospheres (including more than a half dozen moons with atmospheres) are comprised of combinations of solar EUV, soft x-rays, solar energetic particles, solar wind charged particles, magnetospherically accelerated particles, solar wind electric field, interplanetary dust particles as well as propagating lower atmosphere disturbances. Each input has analogous physical interactions with all planetary ionospheres and upper atmospheres, but the integrated consequences of the multiple energy inputs vary from planet to planet. The Earth forms the framework for most fundamental processes because of extensive measurements of the effects of each of the inputs. However the conditions at Earth are far different from those at the carbon dioxide atmosphere of magnetic field-free, slow-rotating Venus, the carbon dioxide atmosphere of Mars with patchy remnant magnetic fields, while the outer planets have hydrogen atmospheres, are fast rotating with intrinsic magnetic fields, and encompass moons that interact with the magnetospheres and have exotic atmospheres. Although the physical processes are known, our understanding of our solar system's ionospheres diminishes with increasing distance from the Sun.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2009

References

Bertaux, J.-L., Leblanc, F., Witasse, O., Quemerais, E., Lilensten, J., Stern, S. A., Sandel, B., & Korablev, O. 2005, Nature, 435, 790CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brace, L. H. & Kliore, A. J. 1991, Space Science Reviews, 55, 81CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brain, D. A., et al. 2006, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, 1201CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connerney, J. E. P., Acuña, M. H., Wasilewski, P. J., Kletetschka, G., Ness, N. F., Rème, H., Lin, R. P., & Mitchell, D. L. 2001, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 4015CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grebowsky, J. M. & Aikin, A. C. 2002, Meteors in the Earth's atmosphere. Edited by Murad, Edmond and Williams, Iwan P.. Publisher: Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002., p.189, 189Google Scholar
Hall, D. T., Strobel, D. F., Feldman, P. D., McGrath, M. A., & Weaver, H. A. 1995, Nature, 373, 677CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanson, W. B., Sanatani, S., & Zuccaro, D. R. 1977, J. Geophys. Res., 82, 4351CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinson, D. P., Flasar, F. M., Kliore, A. J., Schinder, P. J., Twicken, J. D., & Herrera, R. G. 1997, Geophys. Res. Lett., 24, 2107CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kliore, A. J. & Luhmann, J. G. 1991, J. Geophys. Res., 96, 21281CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kliore, A. J., Hinson, D. P., Flasar, F. M., Nagy, A. F., & Cravens, T. E. 1997, Science, 277, 355CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, Y. H., Pesnell, W. D., Grebowsky, J. M., & Fox, J. L. 2001, Icarus, 150, 261CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knudsen, W. C., Spenner, K., Miller, K. L., & Novak, V. 1980, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 7803Google Scholar
Lindal, G. F., Lyons, J. R., Sweetnam, D. N., Eshleman, V. R., & Hinson, D. P. 1987, J. Geophys. Res., 92, 14987CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mendillo, M., Smith, S., Wroten, J., Rishbeth, H., & Hinson, D. 2003, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 1432Google Scholar
Moore, L., Nagy, A. F., Kliore, A. J., Müller-Wodarg, I., Richardson, J. D., & Mendillo, M. 2006, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, 22202Google Scholar
Rich, F. J. 1985, Ionospheric Physics: Chapter 9 in the Handbook of Geophysics and the Space Environment. Edited by Jursa, A. S.. Publisher: Air Force Geophysics Laboratory: United States Air Force, 1985Google Scholar
Taylor, H. A., Brinton, H. C., Bauer, S. J., Hartle, R. E., Cloutier, P. A., & Daniell, R. E. 1980, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 7765CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyler, G. L., et al. 1989, Science, 246, 1466CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waite, J. H., Young, D. T., Cravens, T. E., Coates, A. J., Crary, F. J., Magee, B., & Westlake, J. 2007, Science, 316, 870Google Scholar