Planetary Investigations at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory

Muhleman博士将对水星金星火星 土星和土卫六在厘米和毫米波长使用 许多不同的望远镜和观测技术。 的 实验的目的是测量和解释过程， 不能用现有的航天器或其他波长进行研究 乐队. 该计划包括调查中间和 金星和火星上的高层大气风系统， 作为示踪气体的一氧化碳的旋转跃迁。 水星、火星、土星环、土卫六和金星将被研究 利用超大阵列望远镜的新技术 这些物体回波的合成孔径雷达接收器 由戈德斯通雷达发射器照射 等 雷达图像提供了强有力的工具， 类地行星的地表下结构和 土星。 无线电波长技术提供了独特的能力， 科学 它们可以用来探测到100巴的水平 在主要行星的大气层中，而没有航天器 到目前为止，实验已经测量了任何超过2巴的深度， 包括伽利略号的木星使命。 同样没有 宇宙飞船实验已经对任何行星表面进行了采样， 1或2厘米。 地球无线电的另一个独特作用 技术是用于行星在时间尺度上的会合研究 好几年了 Muhleman博士使用了最先进的基于地球的 射电天文学设施和技术，以探测表面的 行星及其大气层的物理性质。

Dr. Muhleman will make observations of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Titan at centimeter and millimeter wavelengths using a number of different telescopes and observing techniques. The experiments are designed to measure and interpret processes that can not be studied with existing spacecraft or in other wavelength bands. The program includes the investigation of the middle and upper atmospheric wind systems on Venus and Mars using the various rotational transitions of carbon monoxide as the tracer gas. Mercury, Mars, Saturn's rings, Titan, and Venus will be studied with the new technique of using the Very Large Array telescope as a synthetic aperture radar receiver of echoes from these objects that are illuminated by the Goldstone radar transmitter. Such radar images provide powerful tools for investigation of the subsurface structures of the terrestrial planets and the rings of Saturn. Radio wavelength techniques offer unique capabilities in planetary science. They can be employed to probe down to the 100-bar level in the atmospheres of the major planets, whereas no spacecraft experiment to date has measured anything deeper than 2 bars, and that includes the Galileo mission to Jupiter. Similarly, no spacecraft experiment has sampled any planetary surface deeper than 1 or 2 cm. An additional unique role for Earth-based radio techniques is for synodic studies of the planets over timescales of several years. Dr. Muhleman uses state of the art Earth-based radio astronomy facilities and techniques to probe the surfaces of planets and the physics of their atmospheres.