24.08

Galileo Ultraviolet Spectrometer: Information on Jupiter's UV-absorbing Haze

R.A. West (JPL), W. Pryor (LASP, U. Colorado), W.K. Tobiska (JPL), C. Hord, K. Simmons (LASP, U. Colorado)

The Galileo Ultraviolet Spectrometer has been accumulating UV spectra of Jupiter for about one year. On all orbits except G2 the slit is approximately parallel to the spin axis of Jupiter. These spectra are able to spatially resolve the Great Red Spot. For G2 we turned the spacecraft such that the long dimension of the slit was along the east-west direction. We scanned the slit along the sub-spacecraft meridian and thereby obtained pole-to-pole coverage at high spatial resolution. These data have good signal/noise ratio between about 200 and 320 nm. In this spectral region aerosols in the stratosphere and upper troposphere control the reflected intensity. By including limb darkening information from additional Galileo UVS measurements and from images taken at two UV wavelengths by the Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 on the Hubble Space Telescope we are able to derive detailed models for the altitude distribution and spectral properties of the UV-absorbing haze at many latitudes.