HR: 14:40h
AN: SH13B-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Energetic Neutral Atom Emissions From Venus: VEX Observations and Theoretical Modeling
AU: * Fok, M
EM: Mei-Ching.h.fok@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Science Division Code 670, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Galli, A
EM: andre.galli@space.unibe.ch
AF: University of Bern, Physikalisches Institut Sidlerstrasse, Bern, 5, CH-3012, Switzerland
AU: Tanaka, T
EM: tatanaka@geo.kyushu-u.ac.jp
AF: Kyushu University, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Hakozaki, 6-10-1, Japan
AU: Moore, T E
EM: thomas.e.moore@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Science Division Code 670, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Wurz, P
EM: peter.wurz@space.unibe.ch
AF: University of Bern, Physikalisches Institut Sidlerstrasse, Bern, 5, CH-3012, Switzerland
AU: Holmstrom, M
EM: matsh@irf.se
AF: Swedish Institute of Space Physics, PO Box 812, Kiruna, SE-981 28, Sweden
AB: Venus has almost no intrinsic magnetic field to shield itself from its surrounding environment. The solar wind thus directly interacts with the planetary ionosphere and atmosphere. One of the by-products of this close encounter is the production of energetic neutral atom (ENA) emissions. Theoretical studies have shown that significant amount of ENAs are emanated from the planet. The launch of the Venus Express (VEX) in 2005 provided the first light ever of the Venus ENA emissions. The observed ENA flux level and structure are in pretty good agreement with the theoretical studies. In this paper, we present VEX ENA data and the comparison with numerical simulations. We seek to understand the solar wind interaction with the planet and the impacts on its atmospheres.
DE: 5464 Remote sensing
DE: 6295 Venus
DE: 6297 Instruments and techniques
SC: SPA-Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting