# # Program information file # PROGRAM_ID 2023A063 PROGRAM_TITLE Mid-Infrared Measurements of Unusual Atmospheric Processes in Jupiter During Juno Perijoves 49-53 PROGRAM_INV1 Glenn Orton PROGRAM_INV2 Joseph Hora PROGRAM_INV3 James Sinclair PROGRAM_INV4 Emma Dahl PROGRAM_INV5 Shawn Brueshaber PROGRAM_SCICAT major planets / satellites PROGRAM_ABSTRACT_BEG We propose to take advantage of a rare opportunity to determine the structure and composition of Jupiter's atmosphere over a broad vertical range using contemporaneous observations by the Juno spacecraft and MIRSI. We request time near the close approaches ['perijoves', or 'PJs'] for PJ49 and PJ51-PJ35 this semester. The MIRSI observations will cover a spectral range missing from Juno's instrument complement, providing valuable boundary conditions on temperature and composition in the upper troposphere and stratosphere not sensed by Juno's own instrument complement. Our primary goal is to test dynamical models for planetary-scale transitions, specifically the prominent and typically dark / thermally warm region just north of the equator, the North Equatorial Belt [NEB]. A major component of the NEB is currently in a rare cloudy state, and its return to a clear ['revived'] state appears to be slower than for other regions, such as the South Equatorial Belt [SEB], where such transition are rapid and involve large-scale convection. The combination of MIRSI and Juno Microwave Radiometer [MWR] measurements are capable of determining the sequence of changes to atmospheric properties over an unprecedented vertical range, which will test a theory in which such changes are due to the release of convective available potential energy [CAPE] involving latent heating by water condensation. Recent MWR measurements provide evidence for changes involving only regions at and above the water-condensation level, as well as below, and our broad vertical range of measurements will determine which this transition falls into. MIRSI will provide valuable boundary conditions on temperature that will help disambiguate the MWR interpretation of changes as due to temperature or ammonia abundance. Ancillary objectives include tracking similar transitions in other regions and, in general, contributing uniquely to a broad network of Juno-supporting Earth-based observations. PROGRAM_ABSTRACT_END