2000/08/01 by Anil Bhardwaj, G. R. Gladstone · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Magnetosphere #Physics #Uranus #Jupiter (rocket family) #Astronomy #Astrobiology #Planet #Gas giant #Jovian #Saturn #Spacecraft #Plasma #Exoplanet
paper · doi:10.1029/1998rg000046
openalex publication_date 2000/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02
Auroras are (generally) high‐latitude atmospheric emissions that result from the precipitation of energetic charged particles from a planet's magnetosphere. Auroral emissions from the giant planets have been observed from ground‐based observatories, Earth‐orbiting satellites (e.g., International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and Röentgensatellit (ROSAT)), flyby spacecraft (e.g., Voyager 1 and 2), and orbiting spacecraft platforms (e.g., Galileo) at X‐ray, ultraviolet (UV), visible, infrared (IR), and radio wavelengths. UV, visible, and IR auroras are atmospheric emissions, produced or initiated when ambient atmospheric species are excited through collisions with the precipitating particles, while radio and X‐ray auroras are beam emissions, produced by the precipitating species themselves. The emissions at different wavelengths provide unique and complementary information, accessible to remote sensing, about the key physical processes operating in the atmospheric and magnetospheric regions where they originate. This paper reviews the development of our current understanding of auroral emissions from Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, as revealed through multispectral observations and supplemented by plasma measurements.