Observations of Lightning on Jupiter by the Juno Stellar Reference Unit
Abstract
The orbit of the Juno spacecraft has entered a phase where the inbound approach to perijove occurs from the night side of Jupiter. The spacecraft Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) star camera is a visible imager used for attitude determination and Juno's Radiation Monitoring Investigation [Becker, H.N., et al. (2017), Space Sci Rev, doi: 10.1007/s11214-017-0345-9]. Since Perijove 11, the SRU has been able to acquire visible images of lightning flashes on the night side of Jupiter at close range to the planet. A subset of the images have captured flashes occurring within cloud features illuminated by light reflected from Galilean satellites. We present our characterization of these events, including their intensity, duration, and locations within the morphology of the Jovian cloud tops. SRU flash locations are compared to the locations of lightning sferics observed by the Juno Microwave Radiometer and whistler distributions from the Juno Waves instrument.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.P24B..01B
- Keywords:
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- 5704 Atmospheres;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: FLUID PLANETSDE: 5739 Meteorology;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: FLUID PLANETSDE: 5754 Polar regions;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: FLUID PLANETSDE: 6220 Jupiter;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS