The aim of the project – To set the range and regularities of spatial and temporal variations of the gaseous ammonia absorption bands in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, and their relation to the thermal regimes of the planets.
Ammonia plays an important role in the atmospheres of the giant planets, but many features of its behavior as an agent that forms clouds, and its distribution in the region of the troposphere are poorly understood. The Project is in accordance with the priority “Study of Space, planets, and solar-terrestrial relations”, provided by the Law on Space Activities of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Article 4, paragraph 2). Relevance and scientific significance of the Project is also defined by a need to study the processes on the planets in relation to the problem of climate change on Earth. The methodological basis of the Project is to provide specialized data processing and obtain some long-term spectral observations of the giant planets, and carry out the subsequent analysis to have information about the ammonia clouds and changes in the ammonia abundance in its gaseous and condensed states.
Project Objectives – The study of the ammonia absorption bands in different latitudinal zones of Jupiter and Saturn and their spatial and temporal variations. Theoretical calculations of the models of the vertical structures of atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, and abundance variations of gaseous ammonia at different temperatures in each of the tropospheres. Analysis of the long series of observational data on the latitude and longitude and temporal variations of the ammonia absorption in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. Comparison of the results with the thermal infrared observations and with other characteristics of the states of planetary atmospheres.
