Amy A. Simon

FIRST RESULTS FROM THE HUBBLE OPAL PROGRAM: JUPITER IN 2015

The Hubble 2020: Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program is generating new yearly global maps for each of the outer planets. This report focuses on Jupiter results from the first year of the campaign. The zonal wind profile was measured and is in the same family as the Voyager and Cassini era profiles, showing some variation in mid- to high-latitude wind jet magnitudes, particularly at +40° and −35° planetographic latitude. The Great Red Spot continues to maintain an intense orange coloration, but also shows new internal structures, including a reduced core and new filamentary features. Finally, a wave that was not previously seen in Hubble images was also observed and is interpreted as a baroclinic instability with associated cyclone formation near 16° N latitude. A similar feature was observed faintly in Voyager 2 images, and is consistent with the Hubble feature in location and scale.

Scientific rationale for Saturn׳s in situ exploration

Remote sensing observations meet some limitations when used to study the bulk atmospheric composition of the giant planets of our solar system. A remarkable example of the superiority of in situ probe measurements is illustrated by the exploration of Jupiter, where key measurements such as the determination of the noble gases׳ abundances and the precise measurement of the helium mixing ratio have only been made available through in situ measurements by the Galileo probe. This paper describes the main scientific goals to be addressed by the future in situ exploration of Saturn placing the Galileo probe exploration of Jupiter in a broader context and before the future probe exploration of the more remote ice giants. In situ exploration of Saturn׳s atmosphere addresses two broad themes that are discussed throughout this paper: first, the formation history of our solar system and second, the processes at play in planetary atmospheres. In this context, we detail the reasons why measurements of Saturn׳s bulk elemental and isotopic composition would place important constraints on the volatile reservoirs in the protosolar nebula. We also show that the in situ measurement of CO (or any other disequilibrium species that is depleted by reaction with water) in Saturn׳s upper troposphere may help constraining its bulk O/H ratio. We compare predictions of Jupiter and Saturn׳s bulk compositions from different formation scenarios, and highlight the key measurements required to distinguish competing theories to shed light on giant planet formation as a common process in planetary systems with potential applications to most extrasolar systems. In situ measurements of Saturn׳s stratospheric and tropospheric dynamics, chemistry and cloud-forming processes will provide access to phenomena unreachable to remote sensing studies. Different mission architectures are envisaged, which would benefit from strong international collaborations, all based on an entry probe that would descend through Saturn׳s stratosphere and troposphere under parachute down to a minimum of 10 bar of atmospheric pressure. We finally discuss the science payload required on a Saturn probe to match the measurement requirements.

Neptune's Dynamic Atmosphere from Kepler K2 Observations: Implications for Brown Dwarf Light Curve Analyses

Observations of Neptune with the Kepler Space Telescope yield a 49 day light curve with 98% coverage at a 1 minute cadence. A significant signature in the light curve comes from discrete cloud features. We compare results extracted from the light curve data with contemporaneous disk-resolved imaging of Neptune from the Keck 10-m telescope at 1.65 microns and Hubble Space Telescope visible imaging acquired nine months later. This direct comparison validates the feature latitudes assigned to the K2 light curve periods based on Neptunes zonal wind profile, and confirms observed cloud feature variability. Although Neptunes clouds vary in location and intensity on short and long timescales, a single large discrete storm seen in Keck imaging dominates the K2 and Hubble light curves; smaller or fainter clouds likely contribute to short-term brightness variability. The K2 Neptune light curve, in conjunction with our imaging data, provides context for the interpretation of current and future brown dwarf and extrasolar planet variability measurements. In particular we suggest that the balance between large, relatively stable, atmospheric features and smaller, more transient, clouds controls the character of substellar atmospheric variability. Atmospheres dominated by a few large spots may show inherently greater light curve stability than those which exhibit a greater number of smaller features.

Meandering Shallow Atmospheric Jet as a Model of Saturn's North-polar Hexagon

The Voyager flybys of Saturn in 1980–1981 revealed a circumpolar Hexagon at ~78° north planetographic latitude that has persisted for over 30 Earth years, more than one Saturn year, and has been observed by ground-based telescopes, Hubble Space Telescope and multiple instruments on board the Cassini orbiter. Its average phase speed is very slow with respect to the System III rotation rate, defined by the primary periodicity in the Saturn Kilometric Radiation during the Voyager era. Cloud tracking wind measurements reveal the presence of a prograde jet-stream whose path traces the Hexagons shape. Previous numerical models have produced large-amplitude, n = 6, wavy structures with westward intrinsic phase propagation (relative to the jet). However, the observed net phase speed has proven to be more difficult to achieve. Here we present numerical simulations showing that instabilities in shallow jets can equilibrate as meanders closely resembling the observed morphology and phase speed of Saturns northern Hexagon. We also find that the winds at the bottom of the model are as important as the winds at the cloud level in matching the observed Hexagons characteristics.

Dramatic Change in Jupiter's Great Red Spot from Spacecraft Observations

Jupiters Great Red Spot (GRS) is one of its most distinct and enduring features. Since the advent of modern telescopes, keen observers have noted its appearance and documented a change in shape from very oblong to oval, confirmed in measurements from spacecraft data. It currently spans the smallest latitude and longitude size ever recorded. Here we show that this change has been accompanied by an increase in cloud/haze reflectance as sensed in methane gas absorption bands, increased absorption at wavelengths shorter than 500 nm, and increased spectral slope between 500 and 630 nm. These changes occurred between 2012 and 2014, without a significant change in internal tangential wind speeds; the decreased size results in a 3.2 day horizontal cloud circulation period, shorter than previously observed. As the GRS has narrowed in latitude, it interacts less with the jets flanking its north and south edges, perhaps allowing for less cloud mixing and longer UV irradiation of cloud and aerosol particles. Given its long life and observational record, we expect that future modeling of the GRSs changes, in concert with laboratory flow experiments, will drive our understanding of vortex evolution and stability in a confined flow field crucial for comparison with other planetary atmospheres.

An Enduring Rapidly Moving Storm as a Guide to Saturn's Equatorial Jet's Complex Structure

Saturn has an intense and broad eastward equatorial jet with a complex three-dimensional structure mixed with time variability. The equatorial region experiences strong seasonal insolation variations enhanced by ring shadowing, and three of the six known giant planetary-scale storms have developed in it. These factors make Saturns equator a natural laboratory to test models of jets in giant planets. Here we report on a bright equatorial atmospheric feature imaged in 2015 that moved steadily at a high speed of 450 ms−1 not measured since 1980–1981 with other equatorial clouds moving within an ample range of velocities. Radiative transfer models show that these motions occur at three altitude levels within the upper haze and clouds. We find that the peak of the jet (latitudes 10° N to 10° S) suffers intense vertical shears reaching +2.5 ms−1 km−1, two orders of magnitude higher than meridional shears, and temporal variability above 1 bar altitude level.

Small‐scale waves on Jupiter: A reanalysis of New Horizons, Voyager, and Galileo data

Jupiters equator-encircling mesoscale waves were a distinguishing feature observed during the New Horizons Jupiter flyby. Measured velocities indicated eastward propagation, inconsistent with standing wave models developed after the Voyager encounters. We present revised New Horizons mesoscale wave velocities of 164 to 176 m/s, approximately 90 m/s higher than the tropospheric zonal winds on that date, while Voyager and Galileo mesoscale waves do not show any apparent motion. This is consistent with an eastward propagating inertia-gravity or Kelvin wave, or a wave propagating with the wind at certain altitudes, given proper vertical wind shears. New Horizons high solar phase angle methane band observations show wave crest shadows or aerosol clearing, implying altitudes above the cloud deck for the observed features. New Horizons and Voyager data also indicate that wave trains have lifetimes exceeding two Jovian rotations.

Jupiter’s North Equatorial Belt expansion and thermal wave activity ahead of Juno’s arrival

The dark colors of Jupiters North Equatorial Belt (NEB, 7–17°N) appeared to expand northward into the neighboring zone in 2015, consistent with a 3–5 year cycle. Inversions of thermal-IR imaging from the Very Large Telescope revealed a moderate warming and reduction of aerosol opacity at the cloud tops at 17–20°N, suggesting subsidence and drying in the expanded sector. Two new thermal waves were identified during this period: (i) an upper tropospheric thermal wave (wave number 16–17, amplitude 2.5 K at 170 mbar) in the mid-NEB that was anticorrelated with haze reflectivity; and (ii) a stratospheric wave (wave number 13–14, amplitude 7.3 K at 5 mbar) at 20–30°N. Both were quasi-stationary, confined to regions of eastward zonal flow, and are morphologically similar to waves observed during previous expansion events.

Spectral comparison and stability of red regions on Jupiter

A rare red cyclone visible on Jupiter in 1994 and 1995 falls in a class of vortices that are intensely colored, yet low altitude, unlike the Great Red Spot (GRS). Dynamical modeling indicates that the presence of nearby anticyclones both aids in formation and lead to the destruction of the cyclone. A study of absolute spectral reflectance from Hubble Space Telescope imaging data shows that GRS is not typically the “reddest” region of the planet. Rather, transient red cyclones and the reddest parts of the North Equatorial Belt show less reflectance than the GRS at all wavelengths, with enhanced absorption at wavelengths near 500 nm. Temporal analysis shows that the darkest regions of the North Equatorial Belt and transient red cyclones are relatively constant in color from 1995 to 2014, while the spectral slope and absolute brightness of the GRS core vary over time. Laboratory data of colored materials that yield a good qualitative fit to the GRS spectrum do not match the spectra of other regions, and wavelengths from 400 to 700 nm may be most diagnostic of chromophore identification.

A DISTANT MIRROR: SOLAR OSCILLATIONS OBSERVED on NEPTUNE by the KEPLER K 2 MISSION

Starting in December 2014, Kepler K2 observed Neptune continuously for 49 days at a 1-minute cadence. The goals consisted of studying its atmospheric dynamics (Simon et al. 2016), detecting its global acoustic oscillations (Rowe et al., submitted), and those of the Sun, which we report on here. We present the first indirect detection of solar oscillations in intensity measurements. Beyond the remarkable technical performance, it indicates how Kepler would see a star like the Sun. The result from the global asteroseismic approach, which consists of measuring the oscillation frequency at maximum amplitude νmax and the mean frequency separation between mode overtones ∆ν, is surprising as the νmax measured from Neptune photometry is larger than the accepted value. Compared to the usual reference νmax,⊙ = 3100 μHz, the asteroseismic scaling relations therefore make the solar mass and radius appear larger by 13.8± 5.8% and 4.3± 1.9% respectively. The higher νmax is caused by a combination of the value of νmax,⊙, being larger at the time of observations than the usual reference from SOHO/VIRGO/SPM data (3160 ± 10 μHz), and the noise level of the K2 time series, being ten times larger than VIRGO’s. The peak-bagging method provides more consistent results: despite a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), we model ten overtones for degrees l = 0, 1, 2. We compare the K2 data with simultaneous SOHO/VIRGO/SPM photometry and BiSON velocity measurements. The individual frequencies, widths, and amplitudes mostly match those from VIRGO and BiSON within