Bibcode
Montañés-Rodríguez, P.; González-Merino, B.; Pallé, E.; López-Puertas, Manuel; García-Melendo, E.
Referencia bibliográfica
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 801, Issue 1, article id. L8, 5 pp. (2015).
Fecha de publicación:
3
2015
Número de citas
11
Número de citas referidas
9
Descripción
Currently, the analysis of transmission spectra is the most successful
technique to probe the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres.
However, the accuracy of these measurements is constrained by
observational limitations and the diversity of possible atmospheric
compositions. Here, we show the UV–VIS–IR transmission
spectrum of Jupiter as if it were a transiting exoplanet, obtained by
observing one of its satellites, Ganymede, while passing through
Jupiter’s shadow, i.e., during a solar eclipse from Ganymede. The
spectrum shows strong extinction due to the presence of clouds
(aerosols) and haze in the atmosphere and strong absorption features
from CH4. More interestingly, the comparison with radiative
transfer models reveals a spectral signature, which we attribute here to
a Jupiter stratospheric layer of crystalline H2O ice. The
atomic transitions of Na are also present. These results are relevant
for the modeling and interpretation of giant transiting exoplanets. They
also open a new technique to explore the atmospheric composition of the
upper layers of Jupiter’s atmosphere.
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Enric
Pallé Bago