Interplanetary Lyman Observations from Pioneer Venus Over a Solar
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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 103, NO. All, PAGES 26,833-26,849,NOVEMBER 1, 1998 Interplanetary Lyman observationsfrom Pioneer Venus over a solar cycle from 1978 to 1992 WayneR. Pryor,1 Scott J. Lasica,1A. Ian F. Stewart,1Doyle T. Hall,1 SeanLineaweaver, l William B. Colwell,l JosephM. Ajello,2 OranR. White,3 and W. Kent Tobiska 4 Abstract. The PioneerVenus Orbiter ultravioletspectrometer (PVOUVS) routinelyobtained inter- planetaryhydrogen Lyman ot datawhile viewingecliptic latitudes near 30øS from 1978 to 1992 (dur- ing solarcycles 21 and 22). We describe"hot" models for this interplanetaryLyman otdata that include the solarcycle variation of (1) the solarflux, as a functionof latitudeand longitude;(2) the radiation pressureon hydrogenatoms; (3) the solarwind flux; (4) the solarEUV flux; and (5) the multiplescatter- ing correctionto an opticallythin radiativetransfer model. Thesemodels make use of solarradiation flux parameters(solar wind, solarEUV, and solarLyman or) from spacecraftand ground-basedsolar proxy observations.Comparison of the upwinddata and model indicates that the ratio of the solarLy- man ot line centerflux (responsiblefor the interplanetarysignal) to the observedsolar Lyman ot inte- gratedflux is constantto within-•20%, with an effectiveline width near 1.1 A. Averagingthe solar ra- diationpressure and hydrogenatom lifetime over 1 year beforethe observationreproduces the upwind intensitytime variationbut not the downwind. A betterfit to the downwindtime seriesis foundusing the 1 year averageappropriate for the time that the atomspassed closest to the sun. SolarLyman ot measurementsfrom two satellitesare usedin our models. Upper AtmosphereResearch Satellite (UARS) solarLyman ot measurementsare systematicallyhigher than SolarMesosphere Explorer (SME) values andhave a largersolar maximum to solarminimum ratio. UARS-basedmodels work better than SME- basedmodels in fitting the PVOUVS downwindtime seriesLyman ct data. 1. Introduction drogenatoms are also ionized by solar EUV radiation. Solar The interplanetaryLyman otglow comesfrom solarLyman ot Lyman ot resonancescattering from the surviving slow hydro- that hasbeen scattered by hydrogenatoms in the very local in- gen atoms createsthe observedglow. terstellarmedium. At a distance of perhaps30 AU upwind Modeling the interplanetary Lyman ot brightness pattern from the Sun, well inside the solar wind termination shock, requiresdetailed understanding of the processeslisted above. thesehydrogen atoms are currentlydescribed by a temperature The Pioneer Venus Orbiter ultraviolet spectrometer T=8000 K, a velocity v--20 km s-1 with respectto the Sun (PVOUVS) interplanetary Lyman ot observations provide a [Bertauxet al., 1985] and, in our models,by a density n--0.17 particularly good test of our understandingof the solar proc- cm-3[Ajello et al., 1994]. A recenttabulation of the rather esses and their variations, since the data were obtained over wide range of hydrogendensity values in the literature is more than a full solar cycle (December29, 1978, to April 18, givenby Puyoo,et al. [1997]. Their work finds a neutralden- 1992) at a nearly constantdistance of 0.72 AU fromthe Sun. sity at largedistances of n=0.25+0.08cm-3. Solargravity acts Other spacecraft(Pioneer 10 and Voyagers 1 and 2) have ob- to focus the hydrogen atoms as they pass the Sun, but is tained a long time series of interplanetaryLyman ct observa- largelycanceled by solar Lyman ot radiationpressure that re- tions, but thesedata sample a range of distancesfrom the Sun, pelsthe atoms. The ratioof the radiationpressure to the solar complicatingthe interpretation becauseof the possible pres- gravity is called g. Solar cycle variationsin g can makethe ence of outer heliosphericeffects [e.g., Hall, 1992; Hall et al., Sun eitherrepel the atomsor slightly focusthem downstream. 1993; Quemerais et al., 1995, 1996]. Successfulmodeling of Fastmoving solar wind protonscharge exchange with the thePVOUVS inner heliosphere data set is a firststep toward slowerinterstellar neutral hydrogen atoms, creating a popula- understanding theouter heliospheric data. tion of fastmoving hydrogen atoms DoI3pler-shifted outside The modeling described here builds on our earlier efforts. the solarLyman ot line and leaving behind a cavity depleted Ajello et al. [1987] examined the PVOUVS interplanetary Ly- in the slow neutralsthat scatter solar Lyman ot photons. Hy- man ot data set (1979-1985) and used the parallax shift over the Venus year of the brightest emission region to determine •Laboratoryfor Atmosphericand SpacePhysics, University of the hydrogenatom lifetime. Ajello 1990 analyzeda unique set Colorado, Boulder. of PVOUVS Lyman ot observations from 1986 covering high 2JetPropulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. 3High Altitude Observatory/NationalCenter for Astmospheric ecliptic latitudes during observations of Comet Halley. Im- Research, Boulder, Colorado. provementsin the model reflect subsequentefforts at modeling 4FederalData Corporation/JetPropulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Galileo and Voyager data describedelsewhere [Pryor et al., California. 1992, 1996; Hall, 1992; Ajello et al., 1993, 1994]. This paper applies our latest models to the full PVOUVS data set. These Copyright1998 by the AmericanGeophysical Union. modelsexplicitly computethe solar Lyman otflux at each lati- Papernumber 98JA01918. tude and longitudeas a functionof time by using He 1083 nm 0148-0227/98/98JA-01918509.00 imagesas a proxy for solarLyman ot [Pryor et al., 1996]. 26,833 26,834 PRYOR ET AL.: LYMAN ct OBSERVATIONS FROM PIONEER VENUS 2. Instrumentation hydrogencorona was necessary. We examinedthe brightness of the coronaas a functionof the closestapproach distance d of The PVOUVS instrument [Stewart, 1980] was a compact the look vectorto the centerof the planet[Lasica et al., 1993]. 1/8-m Ebert-Fastiespectrometer with a programmablegrating Data obtained with d greater than 5 Venus radii from the drive and two photomultiplier tube detectors. The Pioneer planet center (30,255 km)had <5% contaminationand could Venus Orbiter spin rate was typically 0.52 + 0.01 rad s-• be- safelybe included in the interplanetary data to be reduced. foreMay 1981 and 0.48 + 0.01 rad s-• afterthat. The PV Or- The coronalcontamination was largestnear solar maximum and biter spin axis was usually aligned within ---5ø of the south was unobservable past 5 Venus radii at solar minimum.The ecliptic pole. The PVOUVS optical axis slanted 60ø away Venus coronaand its variation over a solar cycle are discussed fromthe spin axis. Thus the instrumentfield of view (1.4ø x by Colwell [1997]. A time-dependentinstrumental back- 0.14ø) observeda smallcircular strip on the celestial sphere, ground of 7-12 R due to cosmicrays was subtractedfrom the with a 1.4ø width, at an ecliptic latitude 30+_5øS. The data. This background was largest near solar minimum and PVOUVS instrumentsensitivity at Lyman (z found in calibra- smallest near the two solar maxima. tions was 130 counts s-• kR-•. Observed stellar brightnesses Becauseof a minor problemin the grating drive system,dif- indicate that the Lyman (z sensitivity was nearly constant ferent fixed grating positionswere used to observethe Lyman over the course of the mission. (z line during different parts of the mission. The reported in- tensities were correctedto reflectthe part of the instrumental 3. Observations line profile being observed. No overall systematicoffsets be- tween data and model were identified that could be conclu- The PioneerVenus Orbiter maintaineda polar orbit around sively attributed to the use of these different grating steps. Venus with a 24-hour period. Typical distancesfrom planet However, residual differences between data and models in centerwere •70,000 km for apoapsisand 6200-8000 km for early 1979 may be related to incompletelycorrecting for the periapsis. InterplanetaryLyman {x data were obtained at ir- transition from grating step 42 to step 41 on orbit 70 (1979 regular intervals when ground stations were available and day 43). when Venus was not in conjunction with the Sun. The in- strumentoperated in fixed gratingposition mode, typically us- ing a 32-ms integration. This integration period leads to a 5. Modeling spinsmearing of about0.9 ø . In orbits wheretwo setsof 240 ø Plate 1 includes a color display of the PVOUVS data se- arcswere taken, the data were combinedfor a full 360ø cover- lectedfor modeling,with time on the horizontalaxis and eclip- age in longitude. Figure 1 illustratesthe spacecraftorbit and tic longitude on the vertical axis. The data are brightest in the PVOUVS observinggeometry. upwind longitudes near ecliptic longitude 250ø and dimmest near the downwind direction, where slow neutrals have been 4. Data Reduction depleted by charge exchangeand photoionization. Data be- camesparser as the missionprogressed due to reducedground BecausePV obtainedinterplanetary Lyman c• data nearVe- station coverage. The brightest data are at the two ends of nus, carefulexclusion of the Lyman c• signatureof the Venus Plate 1 during maximain the solar activity cycle. The data PERIAPSlS 2 hr SPACECRAFT MOTION 30m 4 hr PLANE OF ECLIPTIC 8 hr 30m lhr APOAPSIS 2hr 8hr 4hr PVOUVS "VIEW CONE" x = SUBSOLARPOINT AT VOl SPACECRAFT SPIN AXIS Figure 1. Illustration of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter polar 24-hour orbit. The PVOUVS observedin longitude circles at -30 ø ecliptic latitude. InterplanetaryLyman (z data usedhere were obtainedwhere the distancefrom the instrumentlook vector to the planetcenter exceeded 5 Venus radii.