The Ionosphere of Venus

PI将使用来自金星快车和先锋金星航天器的数据，以及现有的火星模型，以约束金星电离层的模型。他将专注于模拟主要离子组成和电子温度的主要转变，这些转变已被测量为海拔变化的函数。这项工作将有助于更好地解释电离层是如何形成和维持的。电离层是行星大气层的最上层，在那里，大多数原子和分子被来自太阳的光子电离，因此它兼具气体和等离子体的特性。这项研究对所有陆地电离层的建模具有更广泛的影响，包括围绕其他恒星的行星。研究小组将包括一名研究生、本科生和高中生。

The PI will use data from the Venus Express and Pioneer Venus spacecraft, and existing moodels of Mars in order to constrain models of Venus' ionosphere. He will focus on modeling major transitions of the dominant ion composition and electron temperature that have measured as a function of change in altitude. The work will be useful to better explaining how ionospheres are formed and maintained. An ionosphere is the uppermost part of a planet's atmosphere where most of the atoms and molecules are ionized by photons from the Sun, and thus it has properties of both a gas and plasma. This research has broader impacts to modeling all terrestrial ionospheres, including those of planets around other stars. The research team will include the participation of a graduate student, undergraduate students and high school students.