Observation of mass loading in the Io plasma torus
Author:
- 15 May 1994
- journal article
- Published by American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Geophysical Research Letters
- Vol. 21 (10) , 847-850
Abstract
Ground‐based high‐resolution spectra of emission from the Io plasma torus obtained during 53 nights of observation over a seven month period are used to measure the torus rotation speed and discern regions of the torus that are slowed by mass loading of newly ionized materials. The amount of torus slowing implies that between 2000 and 3000 kg sec−1 are being ionized by the torus. The slowing is spread azimuthally throughout the orbit of Io, suggesting that neutral materials emanating from Io are distributed around Jupiter much more uniformly than currently believed.Keywords
This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- The structure, stability, and global distribution of Io's atmosphereIcarus, 1992
- Detection of neutral oxygen and sulfur emissions near Io using IUEThe Astrophysical Journal, 1987
- Forbidden Lines in n s2n p k Ground Configurations and n s n p Excited Configurations of Beryllium through Molybdenum Atoms and IonsJournal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data, 1986
- Plasma conditions inside Io's orbit: Voyager measurementsJournal of Geophysical Research, 1985
- Observed departure of the Io plasma torus from rigid corotation with JupiterThe Astrophysical Journal, 1983
- An interpretation of the dawn–dusk asymmetry of UV emission from the Io plasma torusNature, 1983
- Dawn‐dusk electric field asymmetry of the Io plasma torusGeophysical Research Letters, 1983
- Departure from corotation of the Io plasma torus: Local plasma productionGeophysical Research Letters, 1982
- Corotation Lag in Jupiter's Magnetosphere: Comparison of Observation and TheoryScience, 1980
- Inertial limit on corotationJournal of Geophysical Research, 1979