My current research uses infrared spectra (which probe Jupiter’s upper atmosphere) from an instrument named NIRSPEC at Keck Observatory. I use h3ppy, a Python package which models and fits H₃⁺ emission lines, to compare bright emission lines in the same wavelength ranges as our data. H₃⁺ is an especially nice molecule to observe thanks to its prevalence in the upper atmospheres of the giant planets, its tendency to emit in regions of methane absorption, and its unusual temporal sensitivity to changes in local temperature and density.
h3ppy derives temperatures and densities from the magnitude ratios of H₃⁺ emission line peaks, and with it, I map these temperatures (and less accurately, densities,) all over Jupiter. This will help determine how the environment in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere varies in local time over varying time spans and location (latitude and magnetic longitude)!
Example of the results of calculating temperatures from a single spectrum. Each pixel in the slit (the green line cutting through the planet on the left) has a corresponding spectrum (such as the 2D spectrum in the upper right where each row is an individual spectrum), and thus its temperature and density can be derived using an H₃⁺ model. The fit from h3ppy is shown on the bottom right; specific emissions have been cropped from the wider spectrum (marked with a red X in the top spectrum) for input into the model. These individual fits map to specific longitudes and latitudes on Jupiter – the two examples on the bottom right are single positions at 1N, 132W and 73S, 132W.
Further detail about these plots will (hopefully) be available in my first paper (currently in progress). I don’t want to spoil the punchline too early, but feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
(Here’s a short article my undergrad did about me and my research!)