Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
April 2003
XMM-Newton
data. In February 2003
Chandra
detected quasi-
periodic variability on timescales in the range 20-70 min. This suggests that
over time the character of the variability in the auroral X-ray emissions can
change from well organised to chaotic.
3.
XMM-Newton
Spectral Images
The first observation of Jupiter by
XMM-Newton
in April 2003
10
indicated
that the auroral soft X-ray spectra can be modelled with a superposition of
emission lines, including most prominently those of highly ionized oxygen
(OVII and OVIII). Instead, Jupiter's low-latitude X-ray emission displays
a spectrum consistent with that of solar X-rays scattered in the planet's
upper atmosphere. These results are strengthened by the November 2003
observations.
Figures 6-9 show EPIC
13
,
14
CCD images in narrow spectral bands
corresponding to the OVII, OVIII, FeXVII, and MgXI lines detected in
Jupiter's spectra: OVII emission is concentrated mostly in the North and
(more weakly) the South auroral spots, OVIII extends to lower latitudes,
Fig. 6. Smoothed
XMM-Newton
EPIC image of Jupiter in a narrow spectral band
centered on OVII. The scale bar is in units of EPIC counts.