Prospects for Jovian seismology with the Lenghu planetary telescope

Abstract: Jupiter is one of the top priorities for deep space exploration in China and other countries. A crucial and remaining unclear scientific topic in Jupiter exploration is depicting the structure of its interior. This paper discusses the current understanding of Jupiter's interior, based on the current development of Jupiter exploration and research history. The present space-based and ground-based observation methods are reviewed, and their feasibility is analyzed. To gain insight into the internal structure of Jupiter, we propose to study Jupiter’s innards by planetary seismology. The ground-based observation, namely the Jupiter Seismologic Interferometer Polarization Imager (SIPI) in Lenghu, will be developed to obtain the Doppler velocity distribution on the surface of Jupiter and identify the oscillation signals. Lenghu has good observation conditions in China and even the world, providing a novel insight into studying the interior of Jupiter. This will also be the first study of the interior of Jupiter by using asteroseismology in China, which has significant implications for the exploration mission of Jupiter.

Keywords: Jupiter seismology; Jupiter's interior; Jupiter model; Jupiter Seismologic Interferometer Polarization Imager (SIPI)