How the Juno Ganymede Flyby Has Changed our Understanding of its Aurora and Atmosphere
- 1Waite Science, LLC, Pensacola, United States of America (hunterwaite@gmail.com)
- 2Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, United States of America
- 3University of California, Berkeley, United States of America
- 4ADNET SYSTEMS, Inc, Annapolis, United States of America
- 5University of Iowa, Iowa City, United States of America
- 6University of Virginia, Charlottesville, United States of America
- 7University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- 8Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, United States of America
- 9Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, United States of America
Juno flew within 1053 km of the surface of Ganymede on June 7, 2021. A unique data set of the interaction of its magnetosphere with the magnetosphere of Jupiter was obtained during the flyby. Auroral imaging was carried out by the UVS experiment simultaneous with the in-situ sampling of the polar cap ionosphere by the Waves, MAG, JEDI, and JADE experiments onboard Juno. Significant outflow of Ganymede’s polar cap ionosphere was observed as well as an in-situ sampling of reconnection processes near the magnetospheric boundary on the flank of the trailing side of the magnetospheric interaction region. Assuming that the electrons measured in the reconnection/interaction region are representative of the electrons producing the aurora, we use the UVS auroral vertical profiles obtained from the flyby and modeling to dramatically improve our understanding of the Ganymede atmosphere. The results of the relevant flyby measurements and the modeling of the atmosphere and aurora will be presented in this talk.
How to cite: Waite, J. H., Greathouse, T., Carberry Mogan, S., Ebert, R., Connerney, J., Kurth, W., Gladstone, G. R., Allegrini, F., Johnson, R., Vorberger, A., Valek, P., Clark, G., Bolton, S., and Hansen-Koharcheck, C.: How the Juno Ganymede Flyby Has Changed our Understanding of its Aurora and Atmosphere, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-9005, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-9005, 2023.
