1. Volcanoes, Atmospheres, and Magnetospheres, Oh My!
The Io Plasma Torus
Volcanoes, Atmospheres, and Magnetospheres, Oh My!
Dr. Jeff Morgenthaler
Photo of comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) courtesy Giuseppe Menardi and spaceweather.com

2. Outline Scientific background Observing the IPT
Galilean satellites
Jovian magnetosphere
Io plasma torus (IPT)
Observing the IPT
Relating the IPT to other facets of the Jovian system
Time allowing: other fuzzy blobs I know and love
Comets
The heliosphere

3. Scientific background: Galilean Satellites
Jupiter is one of the “original” 5 planets
Planet is Greek for “wanderer”
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
First telescopic observation by Galileo in 1610
Showed mini Copernican system
Four satellites
Images: Universe, Kaufmann & Freedman

4. Galilean Satellite Family PortraitIo
Europa
Ganymede
Callisto
Galilean Satellite Family Portrait
Image source: NASA/JPL

5. Tidal heating of Io
Image source: NASA/JPL

6. Io is the most volcanic body in the solar system
Prometheus
Pillan Patera
APOD 2007 February 11, Galileo data from 1997 June 28

7. Scientific background: Jovian Magnetosphere
Magnetic field: approximated by offset, tilted dipole
Source

8. Scientific background: Jovian Magnetosphere
Magnetosphere: where a planet’s magnetic field has more influence than the solar wind on plasma
~50 Rj upwind, ~100 Rj downwind
NASA/JPL

9. Io Plasma Torus
NASA/JPL

10. Observing the Io Plasma Torus
N.M. Schneider and J.T. Trauger (1995)
Neutral density filter
Narrow-band filter (e.g. S II])

11. Observing the Io Plasma Torus: McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope Data

12. McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope Io Torus Imager
Neutral density filter
Narrow-band filter
Guider
CCD

13. McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope Facility (works at night too)

14. Relating the IPT to other facets of the Jovian system
STIS observations of Io
Jovian System – Io Plasma Torus

16. Io [OI] line
Example spectrum: 2002 Jan 26

19. Io Plasma Torus Summary
Torus imager for portable telescopes has been successfully deployed (Nozawa et al. 2004)
Need to verify sky is dark enough above Holland, MI
N.M. Schneider and J.T. Trauger (1995)

20. Comet Basics

21. Anatomy of a comet Ion Tail Dust Tail Head Sun (106 km) Dust (1 m)
Comet Hale-Bopp Image Courtesy of H. Mikuz & B. Kambic ( 10 degree field of view.
Blue line is CO+
Typical dust is 1micron, typical hair is about microns
Head
Dust (1 m)

22. Studying comets: remote sensing
CN coma:
ESA’s Rosetta going to Churyumov-Gerasimenko (2014)
Comet spectrum from Skylab
CN coma image from

23. X-ray emission from comets and the solar system
Solar wind
Heliosphere
Local interstellar medium
(solar wind ion)
(cometary or interplanetary hydrogen)

24. Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer
What used to be thought of as interstellar X-ray emission may be entirely heliospheric