Open AccessFeatures of Jupiter's Trapped Particle Environment Associated with Jovian Satellites—Pioneer 10 Results and X‐ray Observations
Author(s) -
Vesecky John F.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
geophysical journal of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.302
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1365-246X
pISSN - 0016-8009
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1975.tb01618.x
Subject(s) - jovian , jupiter (rocket family) , physics , magnetosphere , van allen radiation belt , orbiter , atmosphere of jupiter , astronomy , bremsstrahlung , astrophysics , astrobiology , computational physics , plasma , spacecraft , planet , electron , nuclear physics , saturn
Summary Following a brief summary of the relevant details of the Pioneer 10 mission to Jupiter, theoretical considerations regarding the absorption of trapped particles by Jupiter's inner satellites are reviewed. A comparison of the features predicted by theory with relevant Pioneer 10 results reveals remarkably good qualitative agreement in most cases. The Pioneer 10 data also show evidence of particle injection near lo which was predicted by a plasma sheath model of the interaction of lo with the surrounding magnetosphere of Jupiter. Estimates of the bremsstrahlung X‐ray emission expected from the impact of the absorbed particles on Jupiter's satellites fall some seven orders of magnitude below current upper limits for X‐ray emission from Jupiter, observed in Earth orbit. This implies that the observation of such X‐rays to obtain the intensity and energy spectrum of the impacting particles will have to be done from much nearer the source, for example from a Jupiter orbiter outside the intense portions of the particle radiation belts.