Near Infrared Spectral Radiance at Multiple Wavelengths From Io's Volcanoes 1: The Low Spatial Resolution Night‐Time Galileo NIMS Data Set

Abstract

AbstractWe have calculated surface‐leaving spectral radiances for 285 detections of volcanic thermal emission from Io observations made by the Galileo Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) in the 0.7‐ – 5.2‐μm wavelength range, the first such analysis of the entire low‐spatial‐resolution night‐time data set. Most of these detections are of 53 individual hot‐spots. We establish that 4.8‐μm spectral radiance is a good proxy for total thermal emission from a hot spot. Many detections reported here have not been previously modeled. This set of hot‐spot detections is derived from NIMS night‐time observations obtained between June 1996 (orbit G1) and October 2001 (Orbit I32), where the hot‐spot is sub‐pixel. Modeling of the spectra yields total thermal emission from each volcano in each observation, as well as the 2:5‐μm spectral radiance ratio and radiant flux density. Surface‐leaving spectral radiance is derived at 2.0, 3.5, 3.8, 4.8, and 5.0 μm allowing direct comparison with data obtained by other spacecraft and ground‐based telescope data. The most energetic volcanic eruptions are identified. We find an unusual number of sources in a C30 observation suggesting that a vigorous volcanic activity was taking place simultaneously in multiple locations, possibly tidally controlled.