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Marten et al. 1995

Marten, A., Gautier, D., Griffin, M.J., Matthews, H.E., Naylor, D.A., Davis, G.R., Owen, T., Orton, G., Bockelée-Morvan, D., Colom, P., Crovisier, J., Lellouch, E., de Pater, I., Atreya, S., Strobel, D., Han, B. and Sanders, D.B. (1995). The collision of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter: Detection and evolution of HCN in the stratosphere of the planet. Geophysical Research Letters 22: doi: 10.1029/95GL00949. issn: 0094-8276.

We report submillimeter heterodyne observations of Jupiter taken with the JCMT during and after the infall of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into the planet. We detected the J=4-3 and J=3-2 rotational transitions of HCN in emission at many of the impact sites. Measurements suggest for fragment G a mixing ratio of ~5¿10-8 above the 0.5-mbar pressure level and a total HCN mass of 6¿1011g. Subsequent observations, made in September and November 1994, reveal that HCN is still present but that the lines now appear in absorption. This results from a cooling of the stratospheric thermal profile between July and September. Chemical implications of the observed persistence of HCN in the Jovian stratosphere for over 6 months are discussed. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1995

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

	Abstract

Keywords
Planetology, Comets and Small Bodies, General or miscellaneous

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/

Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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