Space Sciences

Earth-based detection of Uranus' aurorae

  1. L. Lamy1,
  2. R. Prangé1,
  3. K. C. Hansen2,
  4. J. T. Clarke3,
  5. P. Zarka1,
  6. B. Cecconi1,
  7. J. Aboudarham1,
  8. N. André4,
  9. G. Branduardi-Raymont5,
  10. R. Gladstone6,
  11. M. Barthélémy7,
  12. N. Achilleos8,
  13. P. Guio8,
  14. M. K. Dougherty9,
  15. H. Melin10,
  16. S. W. H. Cowley10,
  17. T. S. Stallard10,
  18. J. D. Nichols10,
  19. G. Ballester11

Article first published online: 14 APR 2012

DOI: 10.1029/2012GL051312

Issue

Geophysical Research Letters

Geophysical Research Letters

Additional Information

How to Cite

Lamy, L., et al. (2012), Earth-based detection of Uranus' aurorae, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L07105, doi:10.1029/2012GL051312.

Author Information

  1. 1

    LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, UPMC, Université Paris Diderot, Meudon, France

  2. 2

    Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

  3. 3

    Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

  4. 4

    Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique, CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France

  5. 5

    Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, UK

  6. 6

    Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA

  7. 7

    Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, CNRS, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France

  8. 8

    Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London, UK

  9. 9

    Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK

  10. 10

    Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

  11. 11

    Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 14 APR 2012
  2. Article first published online: 14 APR 2012
  3. Manuscript Revised: 13 MAR 2012
  4. Manuscript Accepted: 13 MAR 2012
  5. Manuscript Received: 14 FEB 2012

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Keywords:

  • Uranus;
  • aurora;
  • magnetosphere;
  • plasma physics

[1] This study is based on multi-planet multi-wavelength observations of planetary aurorae throughout the heliosphere, acquired along the propagation path of a series of consecutive interplanetary shocks. The underlying motivation to track the shocks was to increase the probability of detection of auroral emissions at Uranus. Despite several Earth-based attempts in the past few years, at Far-UV (FUV) and Near-IR (NIR) wavelengths, such emissions have never been unambiguously re-observed since their discovery by Voyager 2 in 1986. Here, we present a campaign of FUV observations of Uranus obtained in November 2011 with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during active solar wind conditions. We positively identify auroral signatures in several of these HST measurements, together with some obtained in 1998, representing the first images of Uranus' aurorae. We analyze their characteristics and discuss the implications for the asymmetric Uranian magnetosphere and its highly variable interaction with the solar wind flow from near-solstice (1986) to near-equinox (2011) configurations.

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