NSF/AFOSR Astronomy: Spatial and Temporal Variations in the Atmospheric Aerosol Content of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn

New Mexico State University, Las Cruces NM

Investigators

Abstract

Time variability within the atmospheres of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars will be investigated via an ongoing high spatial resolution image collection program employing the AEOS 3.67-meter adaptive optics telescope. Narrow bandpass filters, which are optimized for altitude discrimination in the giant planet atmospheres, and filters already available with the AEOS instrument, will be utilized to discriminate aerosols in all three planetary atmospheres and study surface reflectance characteristics on Mars. Current spacecraft orbiting Mars provide a sun-synchronous view of the entire planet each day, but do not provide time-of-day information at most locations. The AEOS images, collected within short windows of opportunity amongst the normal operations of the facility, will enable the determination of the importance of time-of-day variations as manifested by surface dust lifting and/or convective dust lofting to high altitudes where wind speeds are large. This complements the limited time-of-day global view provided by the orbiters. Long timeline monitoring of the giant planet atmospheres, specifically their aerosol distribution, will assist in better understanding the dynamics of these atmospheres. With the suspected seasonal driving of large storm events on Saturn, monitoring during this time period near southern summer solstice (the most recent convective storm on Saturn occurred near northern summer solstice) might provide a 'forecast' capability, should any storm event occur in the next several years. Long temporal coverage will enable the investigators to look back into the data set and search for previously unrecognized precursor signatures of convective activity in Saturn's atmosphere.