Three-dimensional modeling of lightning-induced electromagnetic pulses on Venus, Jupiter and Saturn

TL;DR

This study uses a 3D model to analyze how lightning-induced electromagnetic pulses affect the atmospheres of Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn, revealing how lightning properties and magnetic fields influence observable optical emissions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel 3D modeling approach to study lightning EMP effects on planetary atmospheres, considering different lightning orientations and magnetic field influences.

Findings

Lightning properties significantly affect optical emission characteristics.

Saturn's magnetic field enhances high-altitude optical emissions.

Electromagnetic pulses can produce detectable atmospheric transients.

Abstract

While lightning activity in Venus is still controversial, its existence in Jupiter and Saturn was first detected by the Voyager missions and later on confirmed by Cassini and New Horizons optical recordings in the case of Jupiter, and recently by Cassini on Saturn in 2009. Based on a recently developed 3D model we investigate the influence of lightning-emitted electromagnetic pulses (EMP) on the upper atmosphere of Venus, Saturn and Jupiter. We explore how different lightning properties such as total energy released and orientation (vertical, horizontal, oblique) can produce mesospheric transient optical emissions of different shapes, sizes and intensities. Moreover, we show that the relatively strong background magnetic field of Saturn can enhance the lightning-induced quasi-electrostatic and inductive electric field components above 1000 km of altitude producing stronger transient optical emissions that could be detected from orbital probes.