Ultraviolet spectrum reveals the presence of ozone on Jupiter's moon Callisto

Abstract

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is known to be present on Callisto. In this paper, we studied the chemical evolution of SO2 astrochemical ice induced by irradiation using 9 eV (137.7 nm) vacuum ultraviolet light produced from the high-flux beamline of the storage ring at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Centre in Taiwan. Ultraviolet absorption spectra of the irradiated ice recorded in the 240–320 nm region reveal a broad absorption band indicating the formation of ozone. By comparing these laboratory spectra with Hubble Space Telescope data of the surface of Callisto in this spectral region, we find compelling evidence to consider the presence of ozone on Callisto. Furthermore, there is an additional band peaking at 309 nm whose assignment is as yet unclear but is quite similar to a band observed on Ganymede, thus leading us to suspect a common molecular source.