VLA Observations of Solar System Bodies

Bryan Butler

Radio wavelength observations of solar system bodies are an important tool for planetary scientists. Such observations can be used to probe regions of these bodies which are inaccessible to all other remote sensing techniques. For solid surfaces, depths of up to meters into the subsurface are probed (the rough rule of thumb is that depths to ~10 wavelengths are sampled). For atmospheres, depths of up to 10's of bars are probed. Giant planet magnetospheres and ring systems can also be effectively probed. The ability to resolve this emission is important in such studies, as it allows differences as a function of location on the bodies (or in their atmospheres or magnetospheres) to be discerned. The VLA has been the state-of-the-art instrument in this respect for the past 25 years, and its power is evidenced by the body of literature in planetary science based on observations performed at that telescope. Such observations yield unique insights into solar system bodies, their composition, physical state, magnetic fields, ring systems, dynamics, and history.

I will describe some recent solar system observations done with the VLA, including observations of the atmosphere of Uranus, the surface of Mars (with radar), water vapor in the atmosphere of Mars, and Titan.