Jupiter’s energy crisis: using a combination of imaging and spectroscopy of Jupiter to better understand this newly revealed complex system

Although we have studied the upper atmosphere of Jupiter for several decades, one fundamental problem remains unexplained. All current models of the atmosphere predict temperatures far lower at the equator than in the regions heated by the aurora. However, our past measurements of the equatorial regions have shown that they are, in fact, very hot. The past two years have seen significant changes in our understanding of these non-auroral region, with a number of studies lead by Leicester revealing this region to be highly complex.

With the arrival of NASA’s Juno mission at Jupiter, with magnetic measurements and ionospheric soundings by the spacecraft, these questions have re-emerged in the scientific community with international importance. we have there is renewed interest in the auroral processes observed in this Gas Giant. Our understanding of how these aurora are formed and what magnetospheric processes drive them have both been greatly enhanced by our ground-based observations of the planet. However, recent observations using using large telescopes like Keck, VLT and Gemini has also revealed dramatic variations in the ionosphere and thermosphere of the planet away from the aurora - unlike auroral studies, it is only infrared observations that help reveal these complex structures.

This PhD will use astronomical observations Jupiter’s upper atmosphere, using a combination of imaging and spectroscopy of Jupiter to better understand this newly revealed complex system. In part, the project will utilise data already taken from a number of telescopes including Keck, VLT and IRTF. As the Juno mission continues, we may also use data from the JIRAM instrument as it becomes available. However, a core component of the PhD will be to use new data. This may involve travel to Mauna Kea, Hawaii, to take new observations at one of the observatories there.