Rocket Measurement of Ultraviolet Spectra of Venus and Jupiter Between 1200 and 1800 Å
Abstract
Low-resolution spectra of the planets Venus and Jupiter between 1200 and 1800 A have been obtained using a servo-controlled, star-tracking telescope in a very accurately pointed Aerobee rocket. The Venusian Lyman-a signal corresponded to a brightness of 18 kR. There is a feature at 1300 A which is interpreted as evidence for the existence of oxygen in the upper atmosphere of Venils. Jupiter gives a relatively strong Lyman-a signal, about one-eighth of the maximum possible from scattering of solar Lyman-a. Jupiter has a high albedo of `-~-`O.2 at the longer wavelengths. The upper part of the Jovian atmosphere contains no observable NH3
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- March 1969
- DOI:
- 10.1086/149919
- Bibcode:
- 1969ApJ...155..887M