A sublimated water atmosphere on Ganymede detected from Hubble Space Telescope observations

TL;DR

Hubble Space Telescope observations reveal that Ganymede's atmosphere contains sublimated water vapor, with its abundance and distribution influenced by surface temperature and sublimation processes, indicating a significant water component beyond previously detected oxygen.

Contribution

This study provides the first high-sensitivity detection of water vapor in Ganymede's atmosphere, demonstrating sublimation as a key source and revealing spatial variations in atmospheric composition.

Findings

H$_2$O is more abundant than O$_2$ near the sub-solar point.

Water vapor is concentrated above the warmer trailing hemisphere.

Estimated H$_2$O column density is approximately 10$^{15}$ molecules per cm$^2$.

Abstract

Ganymede's atmosphere is produced by charged particle sputtering and sublimation of its icy surface. Previous far-ultraviolet observations of the O{\small I\,}1356-{\AA} and O{\small I\,}1304-{\AA} oxygen emissions were used to infer sputtered molecular oxygen (O$_2$) as an atmospheric constituent, but an expected sublimated water (H$_2$O) component remained undetected. Here we present an analysis of high-sensitivity spectra and spectral images acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope revealing H$_2$O in Ganymede's atmosphere. The relative intensity of the oxygen emissions requires contributions from dissociative excitation of water vapor, indicating that H$_2$O is more abundant than O$_2$ around the sub-solar point. Away from the sub-solar region, the emissions are consistent with a pure O$_2$ atmosphere. Eclipse observations constrain atomic oxygen to be at least two orders of magnitude less abundant than these other species. The higher H$_2$O/O$_2$ ratio above the warmer trailing hemisphere compared to the colder leading hemisphere, the spatial concentration to the sub-solar region, and the estimated abundance of $\sim$10$^{15}$ H$_2$O/cm$^{2}$ are consistent with sublimation of the icy surface as source.