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P. D. Feldman, H. W. Moos, D. F. Strobel, H. A. Weaver, B. C. Wolven (JHU), A. Vidal-Madjar, L. Ben Jaffel, D. Rego (IAP), C. Emerich, R. Prange (IAS)
The spectrum of Saturn in the range 905--1187 Å\ was recorded by the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) on 2001 January 15. Five orbits of data were obtained with the planet (diameter 19.\!''3) centered in the 30'' \times 30'' aperture of the FUSE spectrographs yielding a total observation time of 9964 seconds. The spectrum is dominated by electron-impact excited bands of H2 presumably from the south polar auroral region. However, two other sources of emission are identified, solar Lyman-\beta pumped fluorescence of the P(1) lines of the Lyman (6,1), (6,2), and (6,3) bands from the entire disk, and reflected solar emission lines from the rings. Preliminary modeling of the H2 excitation, accounting for H2 self-absorption and hydrocarbon absorption, is able to adequately match the observed spectrum.
This work is based on data obtained for the Guaranteed Time Team by the NASA-CNES-CSA FUSE mission operated by the Johns Hopkins University. Financial support to U. S. participants has been provided by NASA contract NAS5-32985.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: pdf@pha.jhu.edu