Latitudinal beaming of Jupiter’s radio emissions from Juno/Waves flux
density measurements
Abstract
The observations from the Juno spacecraft in polar orbit of Jupiter
provide for the first time a complete view of Jupiter’s radio emissions
from all latitudes. Characterizing the latitudinal distribution of radio
emissions’ occurrence and intensity is a useful step for elucidating
their origin. Here we analyze for that purpose the first 3 years of
observations from the Waves experiment on the Juno spacecraft (mid-2016
to mid-2019). Two prerequisites for the construction of the latitudinal
distribution of intensities for each Jovian radio component are (i) to
work with absolute flux densities, and (ii) to be able to associate each
radio measurement with a specific radio component. Accordingly, we
develop a method to convert the Juno/Waves data in flux densities and
then we build a catalog of all Jovian radio components over the first 3
years of Juno’s orbital mission. From these, we derive occurrence and
intensity distributions versus observer’s latitude and frequency for
each component; these will be the basis for future detailed studies and
interpretations of each component’s characteristics and origin.