Context. We present the first spectroscopic observations of Ganymede by the James Webb Space Telescope undertaken in August 2022 as part of the proposal "ERS observations of the Jovian system as a demonstration of JWST's capabilities for Solar System science". Aims. We aimed to investigate the composition and thermal properties of the surface, and to study the relationships of ice and non-water-ice materials and their distribution. Methods. NIRSpec IFU (2.9-5.3 μm) and MIRI MRS (4.9-28.5 μm) observations were performed on both the leading and trailing hemispheres of Ganymede, with a spectral resolution of ∼2700 and a spatial sampling of 0.1 to 0.17″ (while the Ganymede size was ∼1.68″). We characterized the spectral signatures and their spatial distribution on the surface. The distribution of brightness temperatures was analyzed with standard thermophysical modeling including surface roughness. Results. Reflectance spectra show signatures of water ice, CO₂, and H₂O₂. An absorption feature at 5.9 μm, with a shoulder at 6.5 μm, is revealed, and is tentatively assigned to sulfuric acid hydrates. The CO₂ 4.26-μm band shows latitudinal and longitudinal variations in depth, shape, and position over the two hemispheres, unveiling different CO₂ physical states. In the ice-rich polar regions, which are the most exposed to Jupiter's plasma irradiation, the CO₂ band is redshifted with respect to other terrains. In the boreal region of the leading hemisphere, the CO₂ band is dominated by a high wavelength component at ∼4.27 μm, consistent with CO₂ trapped in amorphous water ice. At equatorial latitudes (and especially on dark terrains), the observed band is broader and shifted toward the blue, suggesting CO₂ adsorbed on non-icy materials, such as minerals or salts. Maps of the H₂O Fresnel peak area correlate with Bond albedo maps and follow the distribution of water ice inferred from H₂O absorption bands. Amorphous ice is detected in the ice-rich polar regions, and is especially abundant on the northern polar cap of the leading hemisphere. Leading and trailing polar regions exhibit different H₂O, CO₂, and H₂O₂ spectral properties. However, in both hemispheres the north polar cap ice appears to be more processed than the south polar cap. A longitudinal modification of the H₂O ice molecular structure and/or nanometer- and micrometer-scale texture, of diurnal or geographic origin, is observed in both hemispheres. Ice frost is tentatively observed on the morning limb of the trailing hemisphere, which possibly formed during the night from the recondensation of water subliming from the warmer subsurface. Reflectance spectra of the dark terrains are compatible with the presence of Na- and Mg-sulfate salts, sulfuric acid hydrates, and possibly phyllosilicates mixed with fine-grained opaque minerals, with a highly porous texture. Latitude and local time variations of the brightness temperatures indicate a rough surface with mean slope angles of 15° - 25° and a low thermal inertia Γ = 20-40 J m^-2 s^-0.5 K^-1, consistent with a porous surface, with no obvious difference between the leading and trailing sides.

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We observed Io with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) while the satellite was in eclipse, and detected thermal emission from several volcanoes. The data were taken as part of our JWST-ERS program #1373 on 15 November 2022. Kanehekili Fluctus was exceptionally bright, and Loki Patera had most likely entered a new brightening phase. Spectra were taken with NIRSpec/IFU at a resolving power R ≈ 2,700 between 1.65 and 5.3 µm. The spectra were matched by a combination of blackbody curves that showed that the highest temperature, ∼1,200 K, for Kanehekili Fluctus originated from an area ∼0.25 km² in size, and for Loki Patera this high temperature was confined to an area of ∼0.06 km². Lower temperatures, down to 300 K, cover areas of ∼2,000 km² for Kanehekili Fluctus, and ∼5,000 km² for Loki Patera. We further detected the a¹Δ ⇒ X³Σ⁻ 1.707 µm rovibronic forbidden SO emission band complex over the southern hemisphere, which peaked at the location of Kanehekili Fluctus. This is the first time this emission has been seen above an active volcano, and suggests that the origin of such emissions is ejection of SO molecules directly from the vent in an excited state, after having been equilibrated at temperatures of ∼1,500 K below the surface, as was previously hypothesized.

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Ganymede is the only satellite in the solar system known to have an intrinsic magnetic field. Interactions between this field and the Jovian magnetosphere are expected to funnel most of the associated impinging charged particles, which radiolytically alter surface chemistry across the Jupiter system, to Ganymede's polar regions. Using observations obtained with JWST as part of the Early Release Science program exploring the Jupiter system, we report the discovery of hydrogen peroxide, a radiolysis product of water ice, specifically constrained to the high latitudes. This detection directly implies radiolytic modification of the polar caps by precipitation of Jovian charged particles along partially open field lines within Ganymede's magnetosphere. Stark contrasts between the spatial distribution of this polar hydrogen peroxide, those of Ganymede's other radiolytic oxidants, and that of hydrogen peroxide on neighboring Europa have important implications for understanding water-ice radiolysis throughout the solar system.

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Several figures (Figures 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14) had the units off. This has been corrected in the versions below. This did not affect our results.(Figure Presented).

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We present spatially resolved (0 1-1 0) radio maps of Neptune taken from the Very Large Array and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array between 2015 and 2017. Combined, these observations probe from just below the main methane cloud deck at ∼1 bar down to the NH4SH cloud at ∼50 bar. Prominent latitudinal variations in the brightness temperature are seen across the disk. Depending on wavelength, the south polar region is 5-40 K brighter than the mid-latitudes and northern equatorial region. We use radiative transfer modeling coupled to Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods to retrieve H2S, NH3, and CH4 abundance profiles across the disk, though only strong constraints can be made for H2S. Below all cloud formation, the data are well fit by -53.8+13.4 18.9 and -3.9+3.1 2.1 protosolar enrichment in the H2S and NH3 abundances, respectively, assuming a dry adiabat. Models in which the radio-cold mid-latitudes and northern equatorial region are supersaturated in H2S are statistically favored over models following strict thermochemical equilibrium. H2S is more abundant at the equatorial region than at the poles, indicative of strong, persistent global circulation. Our results imply that Neptune's sulfur-tonitrogen ratio exceeds unity, as H2S is more abundant than NH3 in every retrieval. The absence of NH3 above 50 bar can be explained either by partial dissolution of NH3 in an ionic ocean at GPa pressures or by a planet formation scenario in which hydrated clathrates preferentially delivered sulfur rather than nitrogen onto planetesimals, or a combination of these hypotheses.

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We present observations obtained with the 10 m Keck telescopes of the forbidden SO a1Δ→X3Σ− rovibronic transition at 1.707 μm on Io while in eclipse. We show its spatial distribution at a resolution of ∼0 12 and a spectral resolution of R∼2500, as well as disk-integrated spectra at a high spectral resolution (R∼15,000). Both the spatial distribution and the spectral shape of the SO emission band vary considerably across Io and over time. In some cases the SO emissions either in the core or the wings of the emission band can be identified with volcanoes, but the largest areas of SO emissions usually do not coincide with known volcanoes. We suggest that the emissions are caused by a large number of stealth plumes, produced through the interaction of silicate melts with superheated SO2 vapor at depth. The spectra, in particular the elevated wing of the emission band near 1.69μm, and their spatial distribution strongly suggest the presence of nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium processes in addition to the direct ejection of excited SO from the (stealth and other) volcanic vents.@en

We obtained the first maps of Jupiter at 1-3 mm wavelength with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) on 2017 January 3-5, just days after an energetic eruption at 16.5S jovigraphic latitude had been reported by the amateur community, and about two to three months after the detection of similarly energetic eruptions in the northern hemisphere, at 22.2-23.0N. Our observations, probing below the ammonia cloud deck, show that the erupting plumes in the South Equatorial Belt bring up ammonia gas from the deep atmosphere. While models of plume eruptions that are triggered at the water condensation level explain data taken at uv-visible and mid-infrared wavelengths, our ALMA observations provide a crucial, hitherto missing, link in the moist convection theory by showing that ammonia gas from the deep atmosphere is indeed brought up in these plumes. Contemporaneous Hubble Space Telescope data show that the plumes reach altitudes as high as the tropopause. We suggest that the plumes at 22.2-23.0N also rise up well above the ammonia cloud deck and that descending air may dry the neighboring belts even more than in quiescent times, which would explain our observations in the north.

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We observed Jupiter four times over a full rotation (10 h) with the upgraded Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) between December 2013 and December 2014. Preliminary results at 4–17 GHz were presented in de Pater et al. (2016); in the present paper we present the full data set at frequencies between 3 and 37 GHz. Major findings are: i) The radio-hot belt at 8.5–11° N latitude, near the interface between the North Equatorial Belt (NEB) and the Equatorial Zone (EZ) is prominent at all frequencies (3–37 GHz). Its location coincides with the southern latitudes of the NEB (7–17° N). ii) Longitude-smeared maps reveal belts and zones at all frequencies at latitudes ≲ |20°|. At higher latitudes numerous fainter bands are visible at frequencies ≳ 7 GHz. The lowest brightness temperature is in the EZ near a latitude of 4° N, and the NEB has the highest brightness temperature near 11° N. The bright part of the NEB increases in latitudinal extent (spreads towards the north) with deceasing frequency, i.e., with depth into the atmosphere. In longitude-resolved maps, several belts, in particular in the southern hemisphere, are not continuous along the latitude line, but broken into small segments as if caused by an underlying wave. iii) Model fits to longitude-smeared spectra are obtained at each latitude. These show a high NH3 abundance (volume mixing ratio ∼4×10−4) in the deep (P > 8–10 bar) atmosphere, decreasing at higher altitudes due to cloud formation (e.g., in zones), or dynamics in combination with cloud condensation (belts). In the NEB ammonia gas is depleted down to at least the 20 bar level with an abundance of 1.75×10−4. The NH3 abundance at latitudes > |50|° is characterized by a relatively low value (∼1.75×10−4) between ∼ 1 and 10 bar. iv) Using the entire VLA dataset, we confirm that the planet is extremely dynamic in the upper layers of the atmosphere, at P < 2–3 bar, i.e., at the altitudes where clouds form. At most latitudes the relative humidity within and above the NH3 cloud is considerably sub-saturated. v) The radiative transfer models that best fit the longitude-smeared VLA data at 4–25 GHz match the Juno PeriJove 1 microwave data extremely well, i.e., the NH3 abundance is high in the deep atmosphere, and either remains constant or decreases with altitude. vi) Hot spots have a very low, sub-saturated NH3 abundance at the altitudes of the NH3-ice cloud, gradually increasing from an abundance of ∼10−5 at 0.6 bar to the deep atmosphere value (∼4×10−4) at 8 bar. vii) We previously showed the presence of large ammonia plumes, which together with the 5-µm hot spots constitute the equatorially trapped Rossby wave. Observations of these plumes at 12–25 GHz reveal them to be supersaturated at ∼ 0.8–0.5 bar, which implies plumes rise ∼ 10 km above the main clouddeck. Numerous small ammonia plumes are detected at other locations (e.g., at 19° S and interspersed with hot spots). viii) The Great Red Spot (GRS) and Oval BA show relatively low NH3 abundances throughout the troposphere (∼ 1.5–1.8 × 10−4), and the GRS is considerably sub-saturated at higher altitudes.@en

After more than a decade of operation at Titan and Saturn, the Cassini RADAR instrument is considered well understood and calibrated. In light of the recent Juno mission which is exploring the inner magnetosphere and the atmosphere of Jupiter, it is worthwhile to reconsider the original measurements of Cassini at Jupiter. The better instrument knowledge in combination with a better understanding of the ammonia distribution of Jupiter has allowed for revising the synchrotron flux density to 1.10 ± 0.07 Jansky, a factor of 2.5 larger than the initial estimate (Bolton et al., 2002). The forward model reduced uncertainties pertaining to the spacecraft pointing using a Markov-Chain Monte Carlo algorithm and constrained simultaneously a brightness model of Jupiter with a disk-averaged brightness temperature of 158.6 ± 2.4 K and depletion of ammonia at the poles (limb darking coefficient, p = 0.05). The flux density spectrum for the 2001 measurement campaign reveals a depletion of energetic electrons (>30 MeV) in contrast to an undisturbed electron population at lower energies. Comparing the Cassini radio maps to Very Large Array maps revealed a redistribution of energetic particles to higher latitudes, indicating enhanced pitch angle scattering for energetic particles. This kind of behavior has been observed in the terrestrial Van Allen belts and could be caused by the resonance of energetic electrons with electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves. We used a simplified analytic expression to determine the feasibility of this process at Jupiter. Although this process is not feasible under nominal conditions, a 10-fold enhancement of the cold plasma density, caused for example by extreme UV events, or volcanic eruptions on Io, could lead to rapid pitch angle scattering of electrons, and the subsequent removal of these particles by the atmosphere.@en

Loki Patera is one of the most dramatically time-variable volcanic features on Io, exhibiting episodic brightening events every 1–3 years that may produce over 15% of Io's global heat flow. We observed three such brightening events with adaptive optics imaging at the Keck and Gemini N telescopes over the course of 70 nights of observation in 2013–2016. The high cadence and multi-wavelength nature of the observations provides constraints on models for activity at Loki Patera. The Matson et al. (2006) model for Loki Patera as an overturning basaltic magma sea is adapted to fit the observations of all three events. In particular, we adjust the details of the overturn progression, and modify the lava thermal properties to include dependencies on temperature and porosity, to improve the fit to the data. The preferred models find overturn front propagation velocities of 1.2–1.7 km/day, corresponding to resurfacing rates of 1500–2200 m²/s. The time intervals of 440–540 days between successive events are roughly consistent with the 540-day period calculated by Rathbun et al. (2002) for events prior to 2001. The best coverage was obtained for the 2016 brightening; model fits to this event require a lava bulk thermal conductivity of 0.55–0.75 W/m/K, with the best fit obtained for a value of ∼0.7 W/m/K and an average porosity that decreases during cooling. For all three events, the overturn front appears to propagate around the patera in the clockwise direction, opposite to what has been inferred for past brightening events. There is evidence that the overturn may be more complex than a single propagating wave, perhaps involving multiple simultaneous resurfacing waves as well as portions of the patera that are active even after the nominal bright phase has ended. The measured intensities are anomalously low when Loki Patera is viewed at high emission angles, suggestive of topographic shadowing due to a raised area or the edge of the depression in which the magma sea resides.

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Spatially resolved maps of Jupiter's far-infrared 17–37 µm hydrogen-helium collision-induced spectrum were acquired by the FORCAST instrument on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) in May 2014. Spectral scans in two grisms covered the broad S(0) and S(1) absorption lines, in addition to contextual imaging in eight broad-band filters (5–37 µm) with spatial resolutions of 2–4″. The spectra were inverted to map the zonal-mean temperature and para-H2 distribution (fp, the fraction of the para spin isomer with respect to the ortho spin isomer) in Jupiter's upper troposphere (the 100–700 mbar range). We compared these to a reanalysis of Voyager-1 and -2 IRIS spectra covering the same spectral range. Tropospheric temperature contrasts match those identified by Voyager in 1979, within the limits of temporal variability consistent with previous investigations. Para-H2 increases from equator to pole, with low-fp air at the equator representing sub-equilibrium conditions (i.e., less para-H2 than expected from thermal equilibration), and high-fp air and possible super-equilibrium at higher latitudes. In particular, we confirm the continued presence of a region of high-fp air at high northern latitudes discovered by Voyager/IRIS, and an asymmetry with generally higher fp in the north than in the south. Far-IR aerosol opacity is not required to fit the data, but cannot be completely ruled out. We note that existing collision-induced absorption databases lack opacity from (H2)2 dimers, leading to under-prediction of the absorption near the S(0) and S(1) peaks. There appears to be no spatial correlation between para-H2 and tropospheric ammonia, phosphine and cloud opacity derived from Voyager/IRIS at mid-infrared wavelengths (7–15 µm). We note, however, that para-H2 tracks the similar latitudinal distribution of aerosols within Jupiter's upper tropospheric and stratospheric hazes observed in reflected sunlight, suggesting that catalysis of hydrogen equilibration within the hazes (and not the main clouds) may govern the equator-to-pole gradient, with conditions closer to equilibrium at higher latitudes. This gradient is superimposed onto smaller-scale variations associated with regional advection of para-H2 at the equator and poles.@en

We present observations of Io's Loki Patera taken with the 10-m Keck telescopes between 1998 and 2016. Adding these data to those published by Rathbun and Spencer (2006) and the Gemini data of de Kleer and de Pater (2016a, 2017) results in a database of 3.5-3.8. μm emission from Loki Patera over almost 3 decades. Data presented here contain adaptive optics (AO) observations of Io's sunlit hemisphere at wavelengths between 1.6 and 5. μm, AO observations of Io in eclipse at 2-5. μm, and non-AO observations of Io in eclipse at 1.6-12. μm. The non-AO data were taken in September of 1999, during the early phase of a brightening event that was documented by Howell et al. (2001). Dual-component Io Flow model (IFM) fits to our 1999 observations show a mostly cool lava crust over almost the entire patera floor, with a relatively small hotter component making up less than 1% of the total area, consistent with previous observations. The 30-year timeline of Loki Patera revealed that, after an apparent cessation of, or change in, brightening events in 2002, Loki Patera became active again in 2009. The more recent activity may have a slightly shorter periodicity than observed by Rathbun et al. (2002), and the direction of flow propagation appears to have reversed. Since 2009 the flow direction is in the clockwise direction, starting in the north or north-east corner and propagating along the patera towards the south-west. During the Galileo era the propagation was in the counter-clockwise direction, starting in the south-west and propagating towards the east. Both the 30-year timeline and the 1.6-12. μm spectrum that was obtained during the brightening event in 1999 agree well with Matson et al.'s (2006) overturning lava lake model, as modified by de Kleer and de Pater (2017).

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Observations obtained with the near-infrared camera NIRC2, coupled to the adaptive optics system on the 10-m W.M. Keck II telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, on 14 August 2007 revealed an active and highly-energetic eruption at Pillan at 245.2±0.7°W and 8.5±0.5°S. A one-temperature blackbody fit to the data revealed a (blackbody) temperature of 840±40K over an area of 17km², with a total power output of ~500GW. Using Davies' (Davies, A.G. [1996]. Icarus 124(1), 45-61) Io Flow Model, we find that the oldest lava present is less than 1-2h old, having cooled down from the eruption temperature of >1400K to ~710K; this young hot lava suggests that an episode of lava fountaining was underway. In addition to an examination of this eruption, we present data of the Pele and Pillan volcanoes obtained with the same instrument and telescope from 2002 through 2015. These data reveal another eruption at Pillan on UT 28 June 2010. Model fits to this eruption yield a blackbody temperature of 600-700K over an area of ~60km², radiating over 600GW. On UT 18 February 2015 an energetic eruption was captured by the InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF) via mutual event occultations. The eruption took place at 242.7±1°W and 12.4±1°S, i.e., in the eastern part of Pillan Patera. Subsequent observations showed a gradual decrease in the intensity of the eruption. Images obtained with the Keck telescope on 31 March and 5 May 2015 revealed that the locations of the eruption had shifted by 120-160km to the NW.In contrast to the episodicity of Pillan, Pele has been persistent, observed in every appropriate 4.7μm observation. Pele was remarkably consistent in its thermal emission from the Galileo era through February 2002, when a blackbody temperature of 940±40K and an area of 6.5km² was measured. Since that time, however, the radiant flux from what is likely a apparently large, overturning lava lake has gradually subsided over the next decade by a factor of ~4, while the location of the thermal source was moving back and forth between areas roughly ~100km to the W of the 2002 location and an area roughly ~100km to the SE of the 2002 location.

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We report observations of four energetic volcanic eruptions on Io: at Tupan Patera on UT 8 March 2003; Tung Yo Patera on UT 28 May 2004; Sui Jen Patera on UT 30 May 2004; and south of Babbar Patera on UT 31 May 2005. The Tung Yo, Sui Jen and south of Babbar Paterae eruptions are in locations where no activity had been seen before. Our observations were obtained at near-infrared wavelengths (1.2-4.7μm) with the 10-m Keck telescope equipped with adaptive optics. We report single and two-temperature blackbody fits, as well as single-component and dual-component Io Flow Model (IFM) fits (Davies, 1996, Icarus, 124, 45-61) to all four eruptions where applicable. We use 2-μm and 5-μm radiant fluxes, the 2:5-μm radiant flux ratio, and radiant flux density of each thermal source to constrain the likely style of volcanic eruption. All eruptions are characterized by a high temperature IFM component (ranging from 1475 to ∼900K) from a relatively small area (2 to several tens of km²), and a lower temperature component with a more extensive surface area. The relationship of the areas at the highest temperatures to the cooler, more extensive area is of particular importance in deriving eruption style. Model fits to the Sui Jen Patera data are strongly suggestive of lava fountaining, although not at a level consistent with a large "outburst" eruption. Activity at Tupan Patera suggests that the entire floor of the patera may have been resurfaced with silicate lava in 2003.

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The extreme and time-variable volcanic activity on Jupiter's moon Io is the result of periodic tidal forcing. The spatial distribution of Io's surface heat flux provides an important constraint on models for tidal heat dissipation, yielding information on interior properties and on the depth at which the tidal heat is primarily dissipated. We analyze the spatial distribution of 48 hot spots based on more than 400 total hot spot detections in adaptive optics images taken on 100 nights in 2013–2015 (data presented in de Kleer and de Pater [2016] Time variability of Io's volcanic activity from near-IR adaptive optics 13 observations on 100 nights in 2013–2015). We present full surface maps of Io at multiple near-infrared wavelengths for three epochs during this time period, and show that the longitudinal distribution of hot spots has not changed significantly since the Galileo mission. We find that hot spots that are persistently active at moderate intensities tend to occur at different latitudes/longitudes than those that exhibit sudden brightening events characterized by high peak intensities and subsequent decay phases. While persistent hot spots are located primarily between ± 30°N, hot spots exhibiting bright eruption events occur primarily between 40° and 65° in both the northern and southern hemispheres. In addition, while persistent hot spots occur preferentially on the leading hemisphere, all bright eruptions were detected on the trailing hemisphere, despite the comparable longitudinal coverage of our observations to both hemispheres. A subset of the bright hot spots which are not intense enough to qualify as outburst eruptions resemble outbursts in terms of temporal evolution and spatial distribution, and may be outbursts whose peak emission went unobserved, or else scaled-down versions of the same phenomenon. A statistical analysis finds that large eruptions are more spatially clustered and occur at higher latitudes than 95% of simulated datasets that assume that eruptions occur at random and independent locations. The preferential occurrence of bright, violent eruptions at higher latitudes supports the idea that a deeper magma source supplies these events, as has been previously hypothesized. The monotonic eastward progression of bright eruptions at southern latitudes from 300° to 200°W also suggests a possible eruption triggering mechanism operating across distances of ∼500 km. A comparison to tidal heating models finds a good correspondence between recent models incorporating a partially-fluid interior (Tyler et al. [2015] Astrophys. J., 218–222). and hot spots in the leading hemisphere as well as persistent hot spots. However, hot spots on the trailing hemisphere and bright eruptions do not match these models well, corresponding better to standard deep-mantle heating models (Segatz et al. [1988] Icarus, 75, 187–206) although this match is still imperfect.

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We present and analyze three-dimensional data cubes of Neptune from the OSIRIS integral-field spectrograph on the 10-m W.M. Keck II telescope, from 26 July 2009. These data have a spatial resolution of 0.035/pixel and spectral resolution of R ~3800 in the H (1.47-1.80 μm) and K (1.97-2.38 μm) broad bands. We focus our analysis on regions of Neptune's atmosphere that are near-infrared dark - that is, free of discrete bright cloud features. We use a forward model coupled to a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to retrieve properties of Neptune's aerosol structure and methane profile above ~4 bar in these near-infrared dark regions.We construct a set of high signal-to-noise spectra spanning a range of viewing geometries to constrain the vertical structure of Neptune's aerosols in a cloud-free latitude band from 2-12°N. We find that Neptune's cloud opacity at these wavelengths is dominated by a compact, optically thick cloud layer with a base near 3 bar. Using the pyDISORT algorithm for the radiative transfer and assuming a Henyey-Greenstein phase function, we observe this cloud to be composed of low albedo (single scattering albedo =0.45-0.01+0.01), forward scattering (asymmetry parameter g=0.50-0.02+0.02) particles, with an assumed characteristic size of ~1μm. Above this cloud, we require an aerosol layer of smaller (~0.1μm) particles forming a vertically extended haze, which reaches from the upper troposphere (. 0.59-0.03+0.04 bar) into the stratosphere. The particles in this haze are brighter (single scattering albedo =0.91-0.05+0.06) and more isotropically scattering (asymmetry parameter g=0.24-0.03+0.02) than those in the deep cloud. When we extend our analysis to 18 cloud-free locations from 20°N to 87°S, we observe that the optical depth in aerosols above 0.5 bar decreases by a factor of 2-3 or more at mid- and high-southern latitudes relative to low latitudes.We also consider Neptune's methane (CH₄) profile, and find that our retrievals indicate a strong preference for a low methane relative humidity at pressures where methane is expected to condense. When we include in our fits a parameter for methane depletion below the CH₄ condensation pressure, our preferred solution at most locations is for a methane relative humidity below 10% near the tropopause in addition to methane depletion down to 2.0-2.5 bar. We tentatively identify a trend of lower CH₄ columns above 2.5 bar at mid- and high-southern latitudes over low latitudes, qualitatively consistent with what is found by Karkoschka and Tomasko (2011), and similar to, but weaker than, the trend observed for Uranus.

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Jupiter's moon Io is a dynamic target, exhibiting extreme and time-variable volcanic activity powered by tidal forcing from Jupiter. We have conducted a campaign of high-cadence observations of Io with the goal of characterizing its volcanic activity. Between Aug 2013 and the end of 2015, we imaged Io on 100 nights in the near-infrared with adaptive optics on the Keck and Gemini N telescopes, which resolve emission from individual volcanic hot spots. During our program, we made over 400 detections of 48 distinct hot spots, some of which were detected 30+ times. We use these observations to derive a timeline of global volcanic activity on Io, which exhibits wide variability from month to month. The timelines of thermal activity at individual volcanic centers have geophysical implications, and will permit future characterization by others. We evaluate hot spot detection limits and give a simple parameterization of the minimum detectable intensity as a function of emission angle, which can be applied to other analyses. We detected three outburst eruptions in August 2013, but no other outburst-scale events were observed in the subsequent ∼90 observations. Either the cluster of events in August 2013 was a rare occurrence, or there is a mechanism causing large events to occur closely-spaced in time. We also detected large eruptions (though not of outburst scale) within days of one another at Kurdalagon Patera and Sethlaus/Gabija Paterae in 2015. As was also seen in the Galileo dataset, the hot spots we detected can be separated into two categories based on their thermal emission: those that are persistently active for 1 year or more at moderate intensity, and those that are only briefly active, are time-variable, and often reach large intensities. A small number of hot spots in the latter category appear and subside in a matter of days, reaching particularly high intensities; although these are not bright enough to qualify as outbursts, their thermal signatures follow the same pattern, suggesting that a similar mechanism may be responsible for these events though at a smaller scale. Two eruptions seen at Kurdalagon Patera in January and April 2015 occurred simultaneously with a brightening of the neutral cloud and plasma torus which are sourced from Io's atmosphere. A plume at Kurdalagon Patera, such as was seen by New Horizons in 2007, could have been responsible for the influx of material that caused these brightenings.

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