[1] An ionosphere has been detected at Callisto by the Galileo spacecraft, using the radio occultation technique. There were four usable occultations by Callisto, providing eight observation opportunities, all equatorial and near the terminator (entry and exit observations). Detectable electron densities were obtained from six of the eight opportunities. It was found that a detectable ionosphere was only present at the observed location when the trailing hemisphere of Callisto, which is the one that is impacted by the corotating plasma of Jupiter's magnetosphere, was illuminated by the Sun. Two of these observations yielded well-defined electron density profiles, having peak densities of 15,300 and 17,400 cm À3 at altitudes of 27.2 and 47.6 km and topside plasma scale heights of 29.6 and 49.0 km. Four different methods, based on both photoionization and electron impact ionization, were used to obtain estimates of the corresponding neutral densities at the surface. The various assumptions inherent in these methods required using a variety of parameters, (cross sections, rate constants, etc.) all with their associated uncertainties. It was rather surprising and reassuring to find that all of the methods used to estimate the surface neutral density gave very similar results in each of the eight cases.The estimated values fall between 1 and 3 Â 10 10 cm À3 , leading to an estimate for the column density of from 3 to 4 Â 10 16 cm À2 .
The Galileo spacecraft passed behind Jupiter on December 8, 1995, allowing the first radio occultation measurements of its ionospheric structure in 16 years. At ingress (24°S, 68°W), the principal peak of electron density is located at an altitude of 900 km above the 1‐bar pressure level, with a peak density of 105 cm−3 and a thickness of ∼200 km. At egress (43°S, 28°W), the main peak is centered near 2000 km altitude, with a peak density of 2×104 cm−3 and a thickness of ∼1000 km. Two thin layers, possibly forced by upwardly propagating gravity waves, appear at lower altitudes in the ingress profile. This is the first in a two‐year series of observations that should help to resolve long‐standing questions about Jupiter's ionosphere.
Abstract.Six radio occultation experiments were conducted with the Galileo orbiter in 1997, yielding detailed measurements of the distribution and motion of plasma surrounding Io. This distribution has two components. One is highly asymmetric, consisting of a wake or tail that appears only on the downstream side and extends to distances as large as 10
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