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Soft x-ray emissions from planets, moons, and comets

  • A. Bhardwaj
  • , G. R. Gladstone
  • , R. F. Elsner
  • , J. H. Waite
  • , D. Grodent
  • , T. E. Cravens
  • , R. R. Howell
  • , A. E. Metzger
  • , N. Ostgaard
  • , A. N. Manurellis
  • , R. E. Johnson
  • , M. C. Weisskopf
  • , T. Majeed
  • , P. G. Ford
  • , A. F. Tennant
  • , J. T. Clarke
  • , W. S. Lewis
  • , K. C. Hurley
  • , F. J. Crary
  • , E. D. Feigelson
  • G. P. Garmire, D. T. Young, M. K. Dougherty, S. A. Espinosa, J. M. Jahn

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

A wide variety of solar system bodies are now known to radiate in the soft x-ray energy (<5 keV) regime. These include planets (Earth, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mars): bodies having thick atmospheres, with or without intrinsic magnetic field; planetary satellites (Moon, Io, Europa, Ganymede): bodies with thin or no atmospheres; and comets and Io plasma torus: bodies having extended tenuous atmospheres. Several different mechanisms have been proposed to explain the generation of soft x-rays from these objects, whereas in the hard x-ray energy range (>10 keV) x-rays mainly result from the electron bremsstrahlung process. In this paper we present a brief review of the x-ray observations on each of the planetary bodies and discuss their characteristics and proposed source mechanisms.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)215-226
Number of pages12
JournalEuropean Space Agency, (Special Publication) ESA SP
Issue number514
StatePublished - Oct 1 2002
EventProceedings of the 36th ESLAB Symposium; Earth-Like Planets and Moons - Noordwijk, Netherlands
Duration: Jun 3 2002Jun 8 2002

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Space and Planetary Science

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